Fragile Balance
by jayma
Summary: Sequel to Within the Face Stealer's Grasp: Kyoshi warned Toph about the dangers that continue to haunt the Avatar. Now Toph must figure out a way to stop an ancient society and above all else, save the man she loves in the process.
1. Chapter 1: Hidden

**Fragile Balance**

_Sequel to "Within the Face Stealer's Grasp"_ - Kyoshi warned Toph about the dangers that continue to haunt the Avatar. Now it's up to Toph to figure out a way to stop an ancient society and most important of all, save the man she loves in the process.

**Notes**: Here is the first chapter! I know you expected the sequel a bit sooner, but right after I finished _Within the Face Stealer's Grasp_, I started my new job. So for the past month I've been getting used to the workload and environment. But, during each lunch time, I definitely thought about how to work on this sequel and how to make it as awesome, if not better, than the last! So I hope you enjoy this first chapter! Leave me some love!

**Disclaimer**: Avatar and its characters do not belong to me, I bow down to your greatness Mike and Bryan. Also, must give credit to the following Taiwanese dramas for using some of the character names: _It Started with a Kiss_, _Mars_, _Meteor Garden_, _Devil Beside You_, and _Bull Fighting_. (P.S. These are awesome shows...I really love them and if you get a chance, you should watch them!)

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**Chapter One: Hidden**

Rock and rubble covered the edges of the local Gaoling training field, the same one the Avatar found himself in many years ago on his quest to find an earth bending teacher. A group of intimidated students stood near the center as they waited for their next instruction. Some of them were out of breath, their chests heaving in and out. Others held onto their arms or heads as new bruises formed upon older ones. As they came together to form a line, they kept their eyes fixed upon one figure.

She had long raven black hair tied up in a zebra-pony tail. Her gold arm and ankle bracelets gleamed under the sunlight as did the sweat on her skin. Due to the scorching heat, she only wore the yellow tank-top of the battle uniform Zuko had given her for her birthday last year. Her green pants went down to her calves, but she had rolled those up to her knees at the beginning of class.

The students had come to call her the _Tophinator_ due to her harsh and callous instruction. They had picked it up from someone who had originally stolen the name from a marionette show cleverly called _Terminator_ that had rolled in from Ba Sing Se. Apparently the antagonist puppet was a brute man charged with the task of killing a revolutionary leader of a fictional war. To the students, the name suited their sifu quite well.

Today was her second day as seventeen…having celebrated her birthday the day before with her family and friends. Not only that, but today marked a full year since those events with Koh in the Spirit World. She kept that in mind as her feet focused on the status of her students.

"Get into your horse stances!" she yelled out. Some of the students flinched at the sound of her voice, but none of them dared to whine in front of her.

"Shen lower….Aya straighten your back…Deshi…" Toph corrected her students but stopped at her favorite, yet troubled student. He was the happiest of the bunch and always had his mind in the clouds…like a certain air bender…

"Deshi, you're here for what exactly?" she directed her question at said student. She sounded more curious rather than condescending.

The boy swallowed heavily under her scrutiny and all of the students stood wide-eyed as they watched their sifu interrogate poor Deshi, "To practice earth bending, Sifu Toph."

"Well you should have been born an air bender," she muttered under her breadth, doubtful that any of her students heard the comment. "Earth bending is a stubborn element, Deshi. I know these advanced moves are hard, but you have to control your daydreaming. I know you have great potential inside of you to be a great earth bender…just try to focus." Her students continued to stare at her with incredulous expressions, since they had never seen any ounce of compassion come out of her before.

Toph didn't know why she was being understanding either…maybe it was because that blasted air bender had a way of unwinding her sour and bitter notes. She smiled to herself and then noticed the still atmosphere. She quickly removed the smile from her face and scratched her throat out loud to interrupt the calm mood, "What are you all waiting for?!" she yelled out again, "Advanced paired forms, now!"

The students were about to continue their practice when a pair of feet clattered to the ground. Everyone except Toph stared up at the intruder, but they recognized the familiar face. They removed themselves from their horse stances and respectfully bowed towards the Avatar. Aang bowed back, his eyes fixed on Toph and a smirk on his face.

"Are you always this mean towards your students, Sifu Toph?" Aang said amusingly as he closed his sky blue air glider. Toph had given him a new glider when he turned seventeen; it was made of Gangwen wood, which was both sturdy and light.

The students looked to Toph for her response; her arms crossed about her chest, "These are my students Avatar Aang. I teach the advanced classes however I choose…I don't tell you how to teach the young ones," she said seriously as to continue her role of authority.

"Actually, you do tell me how to teach the young ones, but I just never pay attention," he replied and the students chuckled.

"Ha, ha, ha," Toph mocked her students and thought of a quick retaliation, "Just for that, all of you have to report one hour earlier than usual tomorrow." The collective sound of disappointment gave her some satisfaction, but she still had Aang to deal with.

"Just relish in the fact that she's going to dismiss you early," Aang said quickly and everybody cheered.

"Really Avatar Aang?" replied some of the girls as they approached him. Toph found it ridiculous that girls of any age would throw themselves at him. Just the other day, he was being hit on by Nana Chan, the eldest member of the Gaoling community.

"Alright, alright! Dismissed! Get out before I make it one hour earlier for the rest of the week!" Toph called out and sure enough her students scrambled out of the premises leaving behind a cloud of dust in the air.

Toph walked up to a barrel full of water and washed her face. Aang's eyes followed her and he knew she wasn't at all happy about taking over her class in the last five minutes. He only did it because today was the fifth anniversary of Ozai's fall and the town was getting ready for celebrations.

Aang knew better than to approach her hot temper directly after what he did, so as he waited he saw her wipe her face and neck with a small towel. He noticed the scar on her shoulder…the one she received when Koh had stung her in the Spirit World. He still managed to get shivers whenever he passed his hand over it. Toph discarded the towel to the side and grabbed her satchel from the floor. She dug into it and retrieved her green betrothal necklace. With that, she turned back to Aang and tossed the necklace over to him.

Aang bent down a bit to catch it, not sure what the action had meant. It certainly didn't mean that she was calling it off…right? Not after they had enjoyed a romantic night together for her birthday…right? Not after they spent five years together…right? He was trying to analyze all of the possibilities when she finally walked up to him, the satchel fastened over her shoulder and across her chest, letting it rest over her hip.

"Can you tie it for me? I can't tie it properly and it keeps coming undone," Toph said as she turned around and picked up her hair. He silently let out a sigh of relief and did as she requested.

While he was tying it Toph couldn't help but smirk, "You thought I was giving it back, didn't you? Calling it off?"

"Was it that obvious?" Aang chuckled as he finished tying it. She turned back over to him and punched him on the shoulder.

"Your heartbeat was going a mile a minute! You still think too much like an air bender…thinking about different angles and possibilities. Honestly Twinkle Toes, after all of the crud we went through last year, do you really think I'd call our wedding off because you undermined my authority in my class? Not to mention my mom would have a fit," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"So you're not mad at me?" he said with hope as he started to lean down for a kiss.

She dodged him by shifting her head to the side, "I didn't say that," she said and laughed at his failed attempt to seduce her.

"Oh, come on! You were working those kids to death! And poor Deshi, he looked like he was going to pee in his pants!" Aang confessed.

"Not true! Deshi was scared, but I didn't have the heart to yell at him like I do to the others. Although I should because he's a total space case; he reminds me of you too much…..wait! Were you spying on me?" Toph asked curiously and prodded his chest with her pointer finger. He flinched at being caught red-handed. Some of the parents of the advanced class had approached him and complained that Toph was being too….aggressive. He told her about calming down a bit, but Toph claimed that she needed to break them down in order to build them back up again, especially at their level. So he took it upon himself to watch over her sessions to see how rough they really were. Sitting in, however, only reminded him of his old training days with her…a unique experience all on its own!

"I was just…admiring your work?" he tried to come up with an excuse, but he knew he was done for. He scrunched his eyes as he waited for another punch. Instead he felt her hands gently grab his face and pull him down for the kiss he wanted earlier.

His facial features relaxed at her touch and he brought her in closer by the waist. She hypnotically moved her arms to wrap around his neck and he deepened the kiss when he caught a whiff of her earthen lavender scent. His hands crawled up along her waist and he went too far up when she burst out laughing; he had tickled her underarm by accident.

Even though Toph wanted to continue after their littler interruption, she figured she had to get back to the topic at hand, "If you promise not to spy on me for those snooty parents, then I'll make an effort to make the class a bit less…intense."

"Can I still spy on you if it's just to see you in action?" he asked as he held onto her waist.

"Only if you also promise to not undermine me again!" she added and flicked him on the forehead. He hissed in pain and rubbed it.

"Yes, I promise…_Tophinator_," he muttered that last part and Toph's ears pricked up at the whispered name.

"What did you call me?" she asked with a smirk as she readied herself to attack him for using the name _he_ invented. _He_ was also the one who passed it along and it spread like wild fire amongst the kids of Gaoling.

Aang laughed and separated himself from her before he answered, "All the kids are using it!" he tried to defend himself.

She reached out to grab him, but he evaded her move, "I'll get you when you least expect it Twinkle Toes," she savored her words and cracked her fingers, "But right now I just want to go home and get cleaned up before the party starts later," she said and she extended her hand outward in his direction for him to grab.

He looked at it skeptically and she wiggled it in the air, "Come on…I won't bite," and she winked at him.

"You're evil," he whispered as he laced his fingers with hers. He pulled her in closer and planted a kiss on her head.

"Yeah, but you love me for it," she said as she leaned her head against his arm and the two walked out into the busy town.

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Under the vibrant sun, the Gangwen shrine was a sight to behold. Its red curved roof, pure white stucco walls, and elaborate symbols and designs made it the jewel of the Gangwen village. It was also located on a vital road, so that visitors to Gangwen marveled at the architecture. Normally, the shrine was not open to the general public, but today made it a special occasion. With five years of continued rebuilding and peace, several people gathered to the shrine to pray and thank the spirits.

Even though the constant flow of people coming in and out would have turned anyone upside down, the kimono-clad shrine maidens gracefully attended to their patrons. As spiritual guides and overseers of the shrine, they were respected members of society and received an adequate amount of attention. One shrine maiden, however, was given more attention than what she bargained for.

"Chun Mei! Psssst! Chun Mei!" a loud whispered voice came out from the bushes at the corner of the shrine.

Chun Mei, a shrine maiden at eighteen with long straight black hair and ivory skin, wanted to turn to the hidden voice, but she was too busy attending to Goro, one of the male elders in the village. He was re-telling the story about how he got his five cats, a story she could recite by heart since she had heard it one too many times. The story deviated, however, when Goro heard the whispered voice as well.

"Is that Lei again?" Goro asked as he tried to peek over her shoulder.

"How can you tell?" Chun Mei giggled as his voice continued to call her from the tall bush.

"Well, ever since he was banned from entering the shrine or even stepping on shrine ground, he's had the bad habit of hiding in that bush. Why was he banned again?" he asked as he scratched his bald head.

"The other shrine maidens and I were performing a private ritual and he accidentally knocked over one of the entrance vases because he wanted to see me," she informed him and Goro nodded as he remembered the events.

"He's in love with you, you know?" Goro added with a smile and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"So I've been told," Chun Mei whispered to him. She definitely knew that Lei felt that way about her and she undoubtedly felt the same way about him…but both were reluctant to confess anything outside of friendship.

"Don't keep that boy waiting, do you hear? I think he's a good kid, regardless of the banning incident," Goro said as he started to walk away. Chun Mei couldn't help but giggle again at the older man's advice. Lei was infamous for that incident and many thought he was a miscreant, having shown up to the village five years ago out of nowhere.

"Take care Goro," she called out and after he was out of sight, she turned to the moving bush and approached it.

A hand suddenly came out and pulled her into the bushes. She laughed out loud and Lei kept shushing her, "You're going to get me into trouble," he whispered. She turned around to face him and even after knowing him for five years, he still took her breath away. His shoulder-length dark brown hair covered most of his face, but it was his amber eyes that pulled her in.

"What's the worst they can do?" Chun Mei said, referring to the rest of the shrine maidens.

"Well the last time I came, even with fifteen feet of clearance, I still got caught! That Fuyu said that if she caught me again, she'd make me wear a kimono and clean the shrine floor! No thanks!" he said and they both laughed at the idea of him wearing a kimono. Fuyu was the eldest shrine maiden at fifty and she never liked the fact that Lei snooped around the shrine to catch Chun Mei's attention.

"So what are you doing here then?" she asked, but that was pretty much obvious.

"I came to play games with Fuyu! What else?!" he said sarcastically. They laughed again, but it died down when Lei realized he was still holding her hand. She followed his gaze and was about to pull it away when he refused to let her go.

He looked up at her and they both stared at each other intently. After a few moments, Lei spoke up, "Chun Mei…" he started. He thought of telling her how he felt all morning long, but he gave into fear again.

"Chun Mei…do you want to go see the fireworks with me? Tonight? For the fifth anniversary?" he asked instead and figured he could tell her how he felt later that night.

She was shocked to hear him ask her out on a date, but was excited nevertheless, "Lei—"

"It's okay if you can't go with me, I understand," he interrupted her.

"Lei—"

"I mean, it's not important or anything, it's just—," he started but he quieted down when he felt Chun Mei's lips on his cheek.

She pulled back and looked down at their joined hands when she spoke, "Lei, I'd love to go see the fireworks with you. Is nine okay to meet up? By the square fountain?" She looked up and saw his dazed head nod, still stunned by her previous action. She smiled at him and reluctantly let go of his hands.

"Great, I'll see you then…don't be late!" she whispered, "Now get out of here before Fuyu finds you!" she laughed.

"Right, yeah, I'll see you later," he squeaked and then scratched his voice. She saw him stumble through the tall grass and at one point he completely fell.

"I'm okay! I'm okay!" he said in a manly voice and they both smiled at each other before they finally parted ways.

Before Chun Mei entered the shrine, she stopped at the doorway. She felt a pair of eyes on the back of her neck and she turned around to look back behind her to the forested area across the road. She saw the bush move momentarily and thought it was Lei playing tricks, but a stray cat jumped out instead. She chuckled at the idea of being watched over and continued her way into the shrine.

A pair of dark eyes, however, did keep watch over her. The cloaked figure saw her turn around and disappear into the shrine, "It's time to pay Lei a visit," the gravelly voice sounded and with that the dark figure withdrew from his spot before the next group of visitors came to visit the shrine.

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**Notes**: So what did you think? I really like the way this chapter turned out because with every relationship there are still insecurities, hidden feelings, and a potential to become the greatest love story ever told! So I hope you enjoyed the awesome Taangness and the introduction of my new characters. Keep in mind that even though I introduced a parallel love story, this is still a Taang-centered story. Just wanted to clarify that! : )

If you wanted a detailed view of a shrine, google shinto shrines and I modeled mine after a few that I saw in my research. And finally, to see who Lei and Chun Mei are modeled after, check out the first two pictures of Vic Zhou and Barbie Xu at www. krystalheart. com/mars/cast. htm (without the spaces). Warning, the theme song of the show automatically plays, so lower your speakers! Also, that song that plays is totally the theme song for this story! lol! Yup, I totally love this show and I couldn't help but create characters based on them! lol!

Chapter two will be up soon! Leave me some love in the form of reviews! I've gotten an amazing amount of "author/story alerts," but nothing says love like a review, hehe : )


	2. Chapter 2: Day

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes**: Here is the second chapter! I really do appreciate everyone who signed up for story/author alert (blushes)! You guys rock, but don't forget to leave a review! Even if it says "I love squirrels" lol! Also, **this chapter includes a slightly altered version of the preview I showed you guys**. Well I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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**Chapter Two: Day**

Everyone in Gaoling bustled back and forth in preparation for the evening festivities. Young children flew decorative kites through the streets, residents decorated their doorways and windows with colorful ornaments and lanterns, and merchants prepared food to be sold at their stands…traditions that have come to be celebrated since Ozai's defeat.

Unfortunately, for Toph and Aang, their peace celebrations the year before were disturbed when Koh kidnapped Toph. The night of their return from the Spirit World they sat by Toph's bedroom window and silently enjoyed the display of fireworks. He had described to her the scene with gentle whispers and finger drawings on her palm.

"Do you think this day is cursed for us?" Toph asked as they rounded the corner and to passersby they seemed to be joined at the hip. Aang still towered over her so he naturally rested his arm over her shoulder, while she held onto him around the waist.

"Let's look back…" Aang started and with his arm still around her shoulder, he used his hand to count off the years, "Five years ago, on this day, I went missing and then reappeared to fight Ozai. Four years ago, you almost got trampled over by a walrus lion in the South Pole when we went to see Sokka and Katara. Three years ago, I came down with an old air bender sickness and you stopped at nothing to find a cure. Two years ago, you had that spar with Zuko and almost caused that tsunami…and last year…" he abruptly finished as he whispered those last words. The events with Koh were the most profound since he came close to losing Toph permanently in this lifetime.

"Yeah, this day is cursed," she laughed to lighten the sour mood. Aang laughed too at her statement and leaned down to kiss her head. He then noticed someone approach them from the corner of his eye. It was Nana Chan, the old flirt.

"If Nana Chan comes to kidnap me, then this day is officially cursed," he whispered and Toph groaned as she felt Nana Chan nearby.

"That old hag is insane! I swear if she feels you up one more time I'm going to—"

"Avatar Aang, dear!" Nana Chan interrupted her and both Aang and Toph put on fake smiles and turned to the elderly woman with her grey bun tightly wrapped behind her head.

"Nana Chan," Toph sighed as she respectfully bowed, Aang's arm slipped back to his side, "What can I do for you?"

"Aang, dear!" she repeated and ignored Toph. Toph rolled her eyes and crossed her arms about her chest. Nana Chan had always disliked the Bei Fongs and found it absurd that the only heir had snatched up the Avatar. If she wasn't flirting with him, she was trying to convince him to date her granddaughter instead, "My lovely granddaughter is visiting from Ba Sing Se and I was wondering if you would like to arrange a private meeting with her," she said as she batted her eyes.

Aang blushed and scratched the back of his head, "I'm flattered Nana Chan, but I've already told you this…I'm in love with Toph and I'm engaged to marry her," he said slowly as he unlocked Toph's arms and grabbed her hand, "Our wedding is next week…we even sent you an invitation," he continued and Toph snorted. Toph didn't want to give her an invitation, but her parents wanted to seem respectful even though they knew she wouldn't attend.

"Ah yes, Lady Toph, I did not see you there," Nana Chan lifted her nose up in the air.

"Ah yes, Nana Chan, I see you're as senile as ever!" Toph said as she cheerily mocked her.

"Okay then!! Take care, Nana Chan!" Aang cut off the conversation prematurely as he strapped his staff onto his back. He then grabbed Toph by the shoulders and steered her back down the street. They rounded another corner and Aang saw the manor entrance up ahead.

"You are way too sensitive around her," Toph stated as he let go of her shoulders and walked beside her.

"As opposed to you, who is way too aggressive?" Aang questioned her with a smirk, but Toph blew a strand of hair away from her face. He saw her sightless eyes look ahead at nothing in particular and he took the opportunity to smooth the situation over. He moved to walk behind her and slipped his arms around her waist.

"But you are right…she is a bit senile," he whispered into her ear and Toph couldn't help but smile.

"And delusional too, if she thinks that you'd go for her stuck-up granddaughter! She's a sorry excuse for an earth bender," she said as she played with his hands on her abdomen. They reached the entrance to the manor and stopped at the gate.

"No one can compare to you," Aang said confidently and kissed her shoulder.

"I know! 'Cause I'm the greatest earth bender…and metal bender…and sand bender!" she said proudly and Aang turned her around.

"I meant that when it comes to life partners, no one can compare to you…literally!" he chuckled and before he leaned down, he quickly looked around for any unknown spectators. At the sight of an empty street, Aang dove in and kissed her on the lips. Toph obviously didn't care if the whole world was looking at them and unexpectedly jumped into Aang's arms. Aang caught her and laughed against their kiss as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She ran her fingers through his rather shaggy hair, after she had told him to let it grow out a bit more. Their lips parted soundly and the fact that they were outside on the street left them completely. That is, until someone brought it to their attention.

"Public display of affection is looked down upon in society, young ones," called out a strong deep voice and even though the statement was a form of reprimand, it still came out with a hint of humor.

Toph and Aang pulled back immediately and Toph dropped to the ground. The moment her feet hit the floor, however, she elatedly threw her hands in the air, "Uncle Qin!" she called out and ran up to the man. The two laughed as he picked her up and spun her around in the air.

Aang forgot that with the wedding approaching, distant relatives would start flooding the area. He stared at the older man; his peppered hair was in a topknot and he wore a light blue hakama, which was a skirt-like pleated pant, and a white kimono-like shirt. The man separated from Toph and then looked sternly over at the Avatar. Aang immediately bowed under the threatening stare.

"Who is this?" he asked.

Toph held onto his arm when she answered, "Come on Uncle Qin! This is Aang," she tugged on his shirt.

"So this is the jelly-boned wimp you told me about?" Uncle Qin turned to Toph with a confused look. Aang slumped at his words; the same exact words Toph had used when she was teaching him to first earth bend. Aang took a deep breath…this was going to be one long day…

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Lei whistled his way down the busy street as people zipped back and forth. He admired the decorations all along the houses and markets in preparation for tonight's celebrations. He even helped put up a large sign "Happy 5th Anniversary!" at the town's center square; a task he was more than happy to accomplish.

He had all the reasons in the world to be happy. For one, he lived in a great village where he had a great job as a blacksmith, in which his fire bending came in handy; although absolutely no one knew that he had fire bending abilities…a trait he'd been ashamed of since the Fire Nation's thirst for power. But above all else, he was going to meet with Chun Mei for their first date on what could possible be the best day ever.

"Lei!" a voice called out to him. It was Goro, the elderly man Chun Mei was speaking to earlier at the shrine.

"Hey G, what can I do for you?" Lei used his nickname for him as walked over to his small decorated market stand.

"Lei, be a pal and fetch me some berries from the edge of town? I'm running short for my moon cakes…they're always a best seller right before the fireworks start!" he informed him as he wiped his hands on his apron.

"Sure, do you want a bucketful?" Lei asked as he leaned over the counter and grabbed a spare wooden bucket.

"That will be more than enough! You're a good kid Lei," he said and patted his shoulder.

"Anytime G, I'll be back in a few," he replied kindly and was about to walk away when Goro called out to him again.

"Did you finally do it?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes. Lei knew that the question pertained to him telling Chun Mei his true feelings that morning. It was Goro's idea, after all.

"Kind of…I'm meeting her tonight and hopefully I'll let it all out by then," Lei blushed and smiled.

"Youth is wasted on the young!" Goro cried out humorously with his hands in the air, but then he turned to him sincerely, "Don't let her slip through your fingers Lei," he told him.

"I won't," Lei said confidently. He then tapped the wooden bucket to let him know that he was off to pick up the berries.

Within a few minutes, Lei reached the edge of town and deviated from the road. He walked deeper into the wooded area, since Goro had told him previously that the best berries were farther in. He eventually found a reasonable good patch and started to pluck the small berries from the branches.

He reached halfway through the bucket when he heard a stick of wood crack behind him in the distance. His ears pricked up at the sound and he carefully placed the bucket down on the ground. He knew he wasn't alone.

Then another sound charged at him…a sound he recently equated only when he was blacksmithing. His eyes opened wide and he took a deep breath as he dove and narrowly missed the rush of fire that just passed him. A fire bender…

"Well done Lei, I see your reflexes have not waned since your departure from the Fire Nation," a voice called out. Lei's eyes darted back and forth as he tried to pinpoint the source of the voice…a voice that sounded all too familiar.

"You can't be here, not now!" Lei yelled out, anger seethed through him as his fists clenched beside him. The tattoo on his back burned against his skin, a reminder of a past he thought was long forgotten.

"But I am here," the voice called out and the man revealed himself. It was the same clad individual that had spied on Chun Mei earlier.

"What are you doing here?" Lei asked as anxiety replaced his anger at the sight of him.

"I have no time for your questions. The Order summons your presence and you have no choice but to heed its call," the dark voice demanded under the black hood.

"What if I don't?" Lei asked, but before he could react the figure grabbed him by the neck and pinned him against the closest tree. The tree shook with a violent force and several leaves showered down upon the two men.

"Then I won't hesitate in killing you and everything you love in the process," the voice whispered against his ear, "And I lied, your reflexes have lessened or else you would have seen that coming."

The dark figure let him go and calmly walked back to his previous spot, "The Order will meet in three hours at the White Cliffs south of this village. Don't be late."

Lei massaged his neck as he saw the figure retreat into the shadows of the trees. Perhaps today wasn't the best day after all…

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Along the way through the estate, Uncle Qin had nothing but sarcastic remarks about Toph's betrothed. Toph defended Aang, but her uncle was just as stubborn as she was. Uncle Qin was her favorite uncle and the only relative who believed in her earth bending and taught her advanced moves. Plus, she knew he was joking and this was his way of warming up to new people.

When Toph was about to leave to freshen herself up, Aang quickly pulled her to the side, "Don't leave me alone with him," he pleaded.

"Come on! He's harmless…just get to know him better," she said and he kept shaking his head in refusal, "Please…for me?" and she broke out the sad pouted lips and teary eyed stare.

Aang took a deep breath at the sight, "You have me wrapped around your finger," he muttered and she tip-toed to kiss him quickly on the lips.

"You'll love him, I know it! He's like a giant teddy bear," she said as she started to walk away.

"Yeah a giant teddy bear that can eat me whole!" he hissed under his breath, "Now I know where she gets her sarcasm from…"

Aang returned to the living area where Uncle Qin was. An awkward silence fell between the two as they sat down across from each other. Aang's eyes were glued to the floor and occasionally he looked over at Momo sleeping on the window sill. He would give anything to be that lemur at the moment…just to escape the burning gaze of Toph's uncle.

"Where are Poppy and Lao?" Uncle Qin broke the silence with his booming voice.

Aang jumped slightly and made it look like he was about to scratch the back of his neck, "They are out at a private dinner with a couple of other elite members," he informed him and wondered why Toph had to take so long.

"Why are you here?" Uncle Qin asked yet another question.

Aang looked up at him with a confused expression and Uncle Qin clarified the question, "Why are you here in Gaoling for the celebrations? Should you not be in Ba Sing Se, where the victory of the war originally took place?"

Aang had always been invited to celebrate in the royal halls of Ba Sing Se, but he always declined, "Because I wanted to celebrate with family….and Toph is my family," he said sincerely.

At the sound of his words, Uncle Qin replaced his harsh exterior with a small smile, "Maybe you are good for Toph after all," he chuckled.

"Does that mean that you'll stop with the sarcastic remarks?" Aang said hopefully.

"Are you kidding? No wonder Toph loves picking on you! You're too easy!" Aang's shoulder fell in defeat…this was going to be a very, _very_ long day…

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A lone man stood on the shore cliffs of the southern Earth Kingdom. His grey hair stood out from under his black hood, his face was completely covered by a mask. He looked out towards the tumultuous ocean and the dark clouded skies above it while the trees behind him shook with the fierce ocean winds. As the water below crashed against the cliff walls, three more men clad in black cloaks and masks came out from the shadows of the trees.

The grey-haired man turned to the others and simultaneously all four removed their masks. Without any further greeting, one of them spoke out fiercely. He was bald and his facial features revealed him to be in his mid-forties, "It's been five years since Ozai's fall! The Avatar and the White Lotus are stronger that ever! Why have you called this meeting Qi Tai?"

"Because as a member of the Hang Lo, I'd expect you to abide by our ancient regulations no matter the circumstance," replied Qi Tai with as much ferocity. Ruo He's gaze fell to the floor having just been reprimanded by the leader of the Hang Lo priests, an ancient order of the Fire Nation.

"Don't forget, it was our forefathers who influenced Fire Lord Sozin's decision to dominate and we still hold that duty even after our loss against the Avatar."

"Do not recite our history to me, Qi Tai," exclaimed one of the other men. Mao was a faithful and elderly priest in the Hang Lo order and refused to be treated in any other manner, "Today marks the fifth anniversary of Ozai's defeat and I haven't heard a whisper from either of you since we left the Fire Nation. So to reiterate Ruo He's initial question, why have you called this meeting?"

"Wait!" called out the fourth and final member, "Before you give us what will be a very informative and might I add, boring, account…how is everyone? I mean, five years is a long time and—"

"I see your annoyance has not left you Lei," Qi Tai interrupted him. After their confrontation earlier, Qi Tai expected him to be anything but humorous…a coping mechanism, perhaps.

"Why can't you be more like your father? He was a revered member of the order before he died," Qi Tai sneered.

"So I took up my dad's position in the Order since he passed, that doesn't mean I have to act like him too," Lei retorted. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to take up his father's role in the Hang Lo order, a privilege and a curse all on its own.

"Stop this nonsense! Why have you called us Qi Tai?" Ruo He persisted. Lei rolled his eyes and signaled Qi Tai to go on.

"I will be quick then…I believe I have found us an opportunity to eliminate the Avatar and restore the Fire Nation reign over the world," he said nonchalantly and the other three looked up at him with wide-eyed expression.

"You jest!" Mao laughed lightly, "Nothing can stop the fully-realized Avatar. That was proven with Ozai's fall." The others nodded in agreement.

"Yeah how do you intend to take him down? I mean I consider myself a pretty good fire bender, but that's nothing against the Avatar," Lei boasted.

"Indeed your bending is nothing in comparison to the Avatar, Lei," Qi Tai said sarcastically and Lei tightened his jaw at the insult, "But what irony? You are the one who's going to help us bring the Avatar's end."

Lei's brow creased in confusion and Qi Tai continued, "You see, I followed all of you after we departed five years ago. Mao, you have a small field on the eastern side of the Earth Kingdom. Ruo He, you are pursuing the field of medicine in Ba Sing Se, and finally…Lei, you moved to Gangwen village not far from the very spot we stand on."

All three men swallowed heavily as Qi Tai revealed these facts. Being a member of the Hang Lo order was not for the faint of heart and it was binding no matter the circumstance.

Qi Tai directed his gaze at Lei and continued, "You see Lei, out of the three of you, you turned out to be the key to the plans I've been formulating for the past couple of years. In the village you live in, the shrine is looked after by mikos, but there is one in particular…what is her name?"

Lei's eyes widened as he knew who Qi Tai was referring to, "Chun Mei," he whispered.

"That's it…she will be our weapon to getting rid of the Avatar once and for all."

"You can't!" Lei took a step forward, his fists clenched, "She's—"

"The one you've been pursuing for the past couple of years?" Qi Tai finished for him.

Lei stepped back at his words. He thought his life with the order was done when Ozai fell. If he had known that he was going to bring any harm to her or to the other villagers, he wouldn't have settled there all those years ago.

"What do you plan to do with her?" Mao spoke up as Lei stood speechless.

"I'd rather not go into details, but she has a strong connection with the Spirit World. I have felt it. If we enhance her abilities, she will be able to rival the Avatar's powers."

Ruo He spoke up, his hands sweaty at having heard Qi Tai's plan, "It's been five years Qi Tai, we've already made lives and we've moved on—"

"Are those the words of a traitor? Have you forgotten what happens to traitors?" Qi Tai approached Ruo He with a calm demeanor.

"No I have not," he answered as he remembered reading accounts of past members who were killed for even the slightest act of treachery.

"That's good to hear because you three are going to help me kidnap her tonight," Qi Tai said matter-of-factly.

"And how do you intend for that to happen? The village would be celebrating, there would be too many witnesses," Mao reasoned.

"That is simple!" Qi Tai clapped his hands together and then turned to Lei, "At what time are you supposed to be meeting her later tonight, Lei?" he asked curiously, although he already knew the answer since he had eavesdropped on their conversation by the shrine.

Lei didn't speak and Qi Tai grew impatient. He struck Lei across the face and sent him down to the floor, "At what time?" he asked again.

Lei spat some blood out and finally spoke, "At nine," he said with clenched teeth.

"Then we take her at ten…that way you can have your last hour with her while she still has a sound mind," he offered as he patted him on the back.

* * *

**Notes**: OMG! So how was that??? What did you guys think? I really need to know how you guys like it so far so that way I can continue writing! I tend to have writer's block if I have a lack of reviews, lol! So hopefully that will give you incentive to click that button and leave me a review! : )


	3. Chapter 3: Pretend

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes**: Here goes the next chapter! I decided to not jump into full-out action just yet, but there's definitely some fluff and some sadness in this chapter! So sorry for posting this up a bit later than usual…For the past two chapters I posted up Saturday night/Sunday morning, but family problems interfered, ugh! Lol! But I promise more good stuff to come soon! Don't forget to leave a review!!!! *skips away happily*

* * *

**Chapter Three: Pretend**

It was a mystery to Aang and to every other man in the four nations…_Why do women take forever to get ready?!_ Aang thought to himself. He certainly didn't think it would take Toph this long, but he waited patiently as he used his air bending to form an air ball between his hands. He occasionally looked down at himself and wondered if he should change into something else. Over the past few years he had collected other types of clothes, mostly earth kingdom attire. Today he was wearing green pants tucked into his black fire nation boots and a short-sleeve green shirt under a black vest. He also wore green gauntlets that Toph gave him for their sparring practices, _"You need these if you want to block my attacks. You're always using your arms to block and your baby skin has way too many bruises!"_

He figured his attire was fine and found himself watching Uncle Qin entertain himself with Momo after the lemur woke up from his nap on the window sill. As Uncle Qin laughed he held onto his large belly and that image reminded Aang of Iroh…it was no wonder that Toph got along with Iroh so well. Aang too laughed as Uncle Qin dragged a string across the floor and Momo attempted to catch it.

Footsteps interrupted Uncle Qin's little game and Aang knew it was Toph. He had the intention of turning around and say "It's about time!" but the moment he did turn, his jaw dropped instead. The very sight of her new clothes took his breath away. She didn't wear her ordinary earth tone colors, although the only thing green she wore was her betrothal necklace. Instead she wore a white tank-top with sheer bell-shaped sleeves, her waist bare. She also wore light blue gaucho pants, like those from her Blind Bandit uniform. She let her waist-length hair down, something she rarely did, her bangs fallen across her face.

_Thank you Katara_, Aang mentally thought. Katara had sent her those clothes for her birthday yesterday and Toph was excited to wear them. Aang simply stared at her and his chest grew heavy with the feelings he felt for her. His mind was also cluttered with thoughts that the monks had never prepared him for…thoughts that only Sokka and Zuko understood as young men in love.

They occasionally mocked him since Aang was the youngest and most inexperienced, _"Aww, look at our Aang! He's all grown up, but still has no clue about how intimate a relationship can get!"_ Sokka patted him on the back

"_Yeah Katara and I—," _Zuko started, but then Sokka gave him an evil glare as he crossed his arms. Zuko only knew that as the 'older-brother-protection' mode.

"_No keep going Zuko, as her older brother I'm dying to know what you and Katara have done," _Aang just looked at the two and rolled his eyes.

"_I think Suki's calling you,"_ Zuko tried to distract Sokka, but he obviously failed.

As Aang stared at Toph, Uncle Qin approached his niece and looked back at the young Avatar, "Are you going to stand there and gawk at her all day?" Toph chuckled at his comment. She heard Aang's heartbeat pick up the moment he turned around and knew that he was doing exactly what her Uncle said.

"Umm, I…uh…" Aang muttered as he blushed furiously.

"He has such eloquence with words!" Uncle Qin laughed and then turned to Toph with a serious expression as he whispered, "Are you sure about this one?"

Toph smiled and whispered back in his direction, "Very sure."

Uncle Qin quirked his eyebrow up questioningly, "Very well, I will wait out on the terrace while the Avatar attempts to gather his senses. The parade will start soon," he said and started to walk out, but then he quickly turned around back to Toph, "And you look radiant, my dear," he whispered.

Toph smiled and felt him walk away, but not before he flicked Aang on the forehead. Aang cried out and rubbed the pained area. Toph chuckled and that brought him back to reality. Aang watched as she approached him and stopped a few inches away from him.

"You're beautiful," Aang spoke softly as he brushed her bangs aside. Toph blushed slightly and her skin reacted to his low voice and touch.

"I know I took a while, but I know you like it when my hair is down, so it took forever to tame it," she laughed as she passed her hand through the still-damp hair.

Aang opened his mouth, but all that came out was what he said before, "You're beautiful," he repeated and they both laughed full-heartedly.

"Why do we still act like we're 12?" Toph asked as she held onto his black vest.

"I guess we have our moments," Aang chuckled as he placed his hands on her bare waist. Toph sucked in a breath when his hands came in contact with her skin.

"Your hands are freezing!" she wriggled under his hands, but he held her firmly.

"Oh, you're so warm!" he said lovingly and pulled her into a hug, where he then moved his hands behind her back to warm them. She laughed and shrieked under his touch and as much as she tried to push away, he didn't let her leave from his embrace.

"My Toph is so warm!" he said again as he left a trail of kisses on her neck. His kisses traveled up along her jaw and finally settled on her lips.

------

Lei walked back to Gangwen in a half-dazed state, his mind and emotions in shambles. The cheek that Qi Tai had struck stung, but nothing stung more than the plan Qi Tai had presented to him and the other Hang Lo members.

Questions ran back and forth, questions he didn't have answers to: What did Qi Tai have planned for her? Why was she so special to him? Why couldn't it have been someone else? Why her?

He walked through the busy town and didn't realize that he had approached the fountain, the heart of the center square. He took a seat and let his head fall into his hands. What was he going to do? His father left him with a responsibility and he would dishonor everything he once stood for if he attempted to betray the Hang Lo. But, how could he betray his friendship and love for Chun Mei?

He sat there torn of heart with the sun high above him….only a few hours left till sundown.

------

"So after Lei lures her into this clearing, how do you plan to immobilize her? We can't have her screaming and kicking her way out of this," Mao asked as he, Ruo He, and Qi Tai sat by the berry bushes where Qi Tai had confronted Lei earlier.

Qi Tai popped a couple of berries into his mouth before he answered, "I have a Yu Yang dart laced with a sleeping agent that will knock her out for a couple of hours."

"And what of Lei? Do you think he'll come through?" Ruo He asked his share of questions as he rested his back against a tree.

"If I know Lei, and I should since he is my _nephew_, he is most likely second-guessing himself at this very moment," Qi Tai answered as he grabbed more berries, "Just like his father, emotional and over-analytic…a very bad combination. But if worse comes to worse, I have a spare Yu Yang dart."

"How do you plan to control her? I can't imagine that she will help us willingly," Mao asked and Ruo He shook his head simultaneously.

"The same way Long Feng did in Ba Sing Se. After all, we were the one who taught him the technique," Qi Tai shortly answered.

"You plan to hypnotize her?" Ruo He asked incredulously.

"Honestly, do you two have nothing else to do but ask questions?" Qi Tai commented in an annoyed manner.

"Perhaps if you had given us more details earlier, the questions would be far and few in between," Mao replied calmly.

"I couldn't tell you everything, especially in front of Lei. There is no doubt in my mind that if I had divulged the truth, he would have betrayed us on the spot," Qi Tai said and threw away the rest of the berries in his hand, "But with my nephew gone now, I'm sure I can entertain you with the details now…"

------

Aang and Toph walked hand in hand through the crowded streets. Uncle Qin had left them to themselves when he unexpectedly met old friends along the way to the parade.

"Why do we have to go to this parade again?" Toph whined as Aang pulled her through the streets.

"Because I'm the Avatar and the Gaoling leaders are honored to have me here again…so I have to put on a show and please my audience," he tried to reason with her, but she laughed out loud instead.

"You're only doing this because you love to have people cheer you on," Toph revealed the truth.

"Well when you say it like that you make it sound like a bad thing," Aang replied smiling. He always enjoyed doing a show for everyone right before the fireworks. Many were disappointed the year before when the Avatar and his betrothed had gone missing. Lao and Poppy had gone in their stead and told everyone that they had both fallen ill, an excuse to cover up what really happened.

"What does your uncle do?" Aang asked as he tried to change the subject and he succeeded when Toph answered his question.

"He's a Shinkan," she simply said. As a Buddhist monk, she knew that he would be acquainted with the term.

"A priest? I kind of suspected it because of his clothes. Where does he conduct worship?" he asked curiously.

"I thought I left you guys alone long enough to become better acquainted," Toph replied as the two reached the corner of the street. Aang saw a throng of people stand on the sides, leaving enough room at the center for the performers. He pulled her to an unoccupied section on the wall and held her hands firmly in his.

"I was afraid to ask," he said truthfully.

"He's really not that bad," she said as she leaned against him.

"I know…but remember when we first met you were completely shut off and unapproachable," he reasoned with her.

"Yeah, good times," she smirked and he laughed at her reminiscing.

"Well, it took a while to get past that. Just give me some time, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends," he said and she nodded as she took his words into consideration.

He kissed her head and looked up to see the head of Gaoling walking closer to them, "Ni Lan is on his way here, I think it's my cue," Aang said excitedly.

"You are so weird," Toph laughed as they separated.

"Oh come on!" he replied, "I know you want to join me," he said as he tapped his knees and did a little dance; the same thing he did when he was distracting that moose lion away from Sokka all those years ago.

"No, please, save me the torture…you, go, have fun. Meet me here after the sun sets and we can watch the fireworks together," she said as she pushed him towards Ni Lan, "I will hear the 'oohs' and 'ahhs' and cheer you on from down here."

"Okay then, but you're gonna miss out," Aang told her as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh shucks!" she mocked him as punched the air and with that Aang left to play his "show."

------

The festivities had started early in Gangwen, usually the fun started at dusk. Children ran back and forth with masks to scare away evil spirits. Some had stopped to exchange candies and cakes, while other partook in games. Parents and other adults talked of the past and while more others danced and sang at the center square.

Only one individual sat admiring others happiness. Several children who have come to know Lei as an older brother approached him and attempted to make him laugh. He smiled slightly and kindly told them thank you.

As the children left him alone, one of them, Gan Gan, spoke out to the others, "Why is Lei sad?"

They all shook their heads, puzzled at the state of their older brother, "Maybe we should go tell Chun Mei," squeaked one of the girls. They nodded in consent and ran as fast they could over to Goro's Moon Cake stand, where Chun Mei was assisting the elderly man.

"Chun Mei! Chun Mei!" the children yelled out and the shrine maiden looked up to see the small children run up to the counter.

"Gan Gan and company!" she called out to them with a smile, "What's the matter?"

"It's Lei!" Gan Gan answered sadly. Chun Mei's smile disappeared when she saw the look on their faces.

"What's wrong with Lei? What happened?" she sounded worried. Goro stepped out from the small kitchen area from the back and eavesdropped on the conversation.

"Lei looks like he's about to cry and no matter what we do he won't laugh," Gan Gan replied and the other children nodded.

"Where is he?" Chun Mei asked as she took off her apron.

"He's at the fountain," one of the girls answered.

"Okay kids, you run along and I'll go find Lei okay. Go eat as much candy as you can!" she said to make them feel better. She saw the kids walk the other way and turned around to find Goro, only to find him holding the counter door for her.

"He did seem a bit down when he brought me those berries. Go and find him, I'll be alright by myself," he said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and thanked him before she ran off into the crowd.

------

Toph stood in the back of the crowd, not needing to 'see' the show at all. She could feel it and hear it from her spot.

"Where's the man of the hour?" a voice asked behind her and she turned to her uncle.

"He's getting ready for the performance," she answered as she leaned against the wall.

She felt him shift his feet from side to side, "What's on your mind?" she asked him.

"He's a sweet kid, I give him that," he started and Toph knew that where he was going. He and her father were one in the same…always protective, "But he's the Avatar and danger will always be around him, whether he wants it or not. Are you ready for that?" he asked her.

Toph smiled and remembered that her uncle was uninformed about last year's situation, "Uncle, I've been to the Spirit World and back with him…I think I'm ready for pretty much anything when it comes to being with Aang."

He sighed, but then he placed his hand on her head, "You know you're like a daughter to me, so I can't help but worry."

"Don't worry…Aang takes good care of me and don't forget I can also take care of myself too…you taught me that, remember?" she said as she referred to her younger days when Uncle Qin would teach her earth bending tactics whenever her parents weren't looking.

"As long as he makes you happy," he smiled and pulled her into a half-hug.

"He always does," she answered truthfully and hugged him back.

"What do you say, after the whole night is over, we scare your parents with an earthquake?" he asked mischievously.

"I like your style, old man," she said as they both started to scheme their plans.

------

Chun Mei apologized as she bumped into several people. She quickly dodged carts and running children until finally she saw the fountain ahead of her. She was breathing rapidly once she came to a stop and saw Lei head droop in front of him. She looked down at her clothes and dusted it off and quickly brushed a hand through her hair.

She walked up to him and kneeled down to his level, "Hey stranger," she spoke softly and Lei's ears pricked up at the sound of her voice.

He looked up and turned his head to look at her, "Chun Mei," he whispered back. She smiled at him and noticed his amber eyes were no longer vibrant, "What are you doing here?" he asked plainly. She wasn't used to seeing Lei like this…he was always happy and caring.

"Gan Gan and the others came to look for me after they saw you sitting here. What's wrong?" she asked sincerely as she sat next to him and held onto his hand.

He looked down at her kind gesture and he enjoyed the feeling of her hand in his. He swallowed heavily and it almost broke him to pull his hand away. She stared at him and he looked as if he was disgusted.

"I'm sorry," she quietly apologized.

Lei closed his eyes and inwardly apologized to her as he thought of every possible thing to repel her. He wasn't going to risk her life and he'd rather lose her than give her up to Qi Tai, "Chun Mei, I can't go out with you later."

She couldn't believe her ears as his voice echoed through her mind. She looked up at everyone around her, so jubilant and carefree…this couldn't be happening. Chun Mei quickly grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him up and into a small alley, everyone too distracted to notice.

Lei stared at her back and she finally turned, sadness in her face, "You were so happy this morning when you asked me…why are you calling it off now? Why so sudden?"

Lei wanted more than anything to pull her into his arms, but instead settled back into his bad boy streak when he answered, "I realized it was a mistake. I'm actually leaving Gangwen to explore the Earth Kingdom and I thought I could have my way with you before I went off," he laughed.

"This is isn't you, Lei," Chun Mei went to touch his face, but he caught her wrist midair.

He pulled her closer to him in a threatening manner, his amber eyes hot with anger, "You don't know anything about me," he said through a clenched jaw.

"Lei, why are you doing this?" she said held back her tears.

"Let's get something straight here. I only pretended to be your friend to mooch off of your sweet nature. And it has been an absolute _bore_ being around you and this village for the past five years! Now that I've finally earned the money to get out of this dump, I'm not holding anything back. So do me and yourself a favor and move on," he said and pushed her back.

At this point the tears completely broke through. He turned around to leave before he gave in, but she held him back.

"I will let you go right now Lei if you look me in the eye and tell me that you don't love me," Lei closed his eyes at her words as she made it more difficult for him to leave.

Unexpectedly he turned around, grabbed her by the neck and pushed her against the wall. He came close to her ear and took in one last hint of her aroma. He then looked her in the eye as she had requested, "I…don't love you," and with that he let her go and walked out of the alley, leaving the woman he loved behind.

* * *

**Notes**: OH SNAP! I love Toph and Uncle Qin! They are too hilarious! And yes, I had to incorporate Aang's dance in there! lol! I love it! And OH NO! Lei and Chun Mei! GASP! So leave me a review and let me know what you think!!


	4. Chapter 4: Spirit

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes**: Thank you all for the awesome reviews to the last chapter! Many of you are concerned for Lei and I'm so happy to know that he's become a favorite character! Another fave character is Uncle Qin! He's definitely a cartoon version of my uncle, who just unbelievably funny! I love him and I'm glad you guys enjoy the interaction between him and Toph. I hope you enjoy this next chapter! It's full of awesomeness and suspense! Don't forget to leave reviews!

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**Chapter Four: Spirit**

An orange hue sprang up from the edges of the horizon and gradually meshed with the bright blue skies above Gaoling. The whole village buzzed with excitement as vendors opened up shops and corner performances took place. As Toph held onto her uncle's arm, they walked around a bit before Aang and professional performers from Ember Island prepared themselves for the big show later on.

"What of your friends? The Water Tribe siblings?" Uncle Qin asked as he and Toph passed a group of jugglers who were tossing swords back and forth in the air.

"They're okay, last time I heard. Aang sent them letters a couple of weeks ago asking what plans they had for today, but they didn't respond. Katara must be with Zuko in the Fire Nation and Sokka must be with Suki on Kyoshi Island…or maybe they're in the South Pole with family. Wherever they are, I hope they're okay," she replied and shrugged her shoulders.

"Aww, Toph, I didn't know you cared so much," a voice called out to her right. The sound brought a smile to her lips and she quickly turned her head, but she couldn't feel the vibrations of the source. Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion and for a second she thought she had imagined it until a pair of feet landed on the ground. A jolt of vibrations scurried over to her senses and her smile grew wider. Apparently he was sitting over on a wooden stool by a counter when his eyes happened to come across her.

"Snoozles!" she called out. Sokka, clad in Earth Kingdom attire, walked up to her and she momentarily let go of her uncle to give him a hug, "What are you doing here?" she asked happily as he pulled back.

"Katara and I decided to drop by and surprise you and Aang. Zuko and Suki had to attend to a couple of things, but they'll be here in the next few days for your wedding," he replied. Toph took in the change in his voice. It still cracked at times, but at other moments you could really hear the deep and suave nature to it. He had also grown too and probably already reached the height of his father by this point. His hair was definitely longer, but still hung up in a tail.

"Where's Katara?" Toph asked, but before Sokka could answer, a finger tapped her gently on the shoulder.

"She's right behind you," Katara answered and she heard Toph call out 'Sweetness!' as the two young women graciously hugged each other, "Sokka must have kept you distracted to not notice that I was behind you, oh mighty earth bender," she kindly mocked. Katara too wore an Earth Kingdom dress for the occasion, her hair held back in a long braid.

"There are too many people here and it's hard to focus on each familiar step," Toph replied, "But you are right about the 'mighty earth bender' part!" The three laughed and Sokka noticed the elderly mad that stood by Toph.

"Toph, who's this?" Sokka asked curiously.

"This is my uncle, Qin Bei Fong," Toph introduced and Uncle Qin kindly bowed in the direction of Sokka and Katara.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir," Katara formally responded and Uncle Qin was quick to correct her.

"Please call me Uncle Qin, I've never been one for formality," he informed them and Sokka scratched his chin in thought.

"So that's where Toph gets it from…" he commented out loud to which he received a flick on the ear by Toph. He winced in pain and Katara giggled at the sight.

"Just like good old times," Katara said happily, but then frowned momentarily, "But where's Aang, Appa, and Momo?"

"Twinkle Toes is getting ready for his 'big performance'," Toph emphasized that last bit as her fingers formed quotation marks in the air, "Appa should be around here somewhere. Aang brought him earlier to play around with the kids as part of the celebration. And Momo followed us out here, so he's probably flying around somewhere," she said with a big smile plastered on her face.

"I forget when does your Fancy Dancer begin the show?" Uncle Qin asked humorously and Sokka scratched his chin in thought again.

"So she picked up nicknames from you, huh?" Sokka asked curiously and this time he managed to block Toph's flick attack, but Katara did it for her on his other ear. Ouch…it must hurt to be an overly inquisitive Sokka.

------

He didn't look back. He couldn't…not after what he did. Lei's hand burned as he had just assaulted the only true person he cared about. The act he put on to ward her off reminded him of his youth back in the Fire Nation. He grew up as an only child and a privileged one at that. He was given everything and gave nothing back. His parents were always called on by the school officials and complained that Lei was unruly and troublesome. The day his father died was the day he changed. Contrary to what most people thought, Lei loved his father and had the highest respect for him, but like any other teenager, he just wanted to have fun. The day his father died he turned over a new leaf…and the day he met Chun Mei, made him want to stay that way.

But as he mindlessly walked through the maze of streets, he felt repulsed by the way he tried to protect her from Qi Tai and the others. Regressing back to his old behavior was his only way out and hopefully she got the message.

On his way out of Gangwen he passed by Goro's shop, unaware of the fact that the old man kept his eyes on him. Goro noticed the numb look on Lei's face and the clenched fist at his side. As he saw Lei diverge from the path leaving the village and walked into the forest, he knew something was wrong.

Goro quickly called out the shop owner adjacent to him and kindly asked that they keep watch on his counter. With a slight limp to his step, Goro walked as fast as he could towards the spot the children had mentioned to Chun Mei earlier. He made his way through the folk dancers over to the fountain, but no sight of Chun Mei. He walked around and passed by a group of children playing a game of ball with their feet. The ball passed by him and into a small alley nearby. As a good samaritan, he momentarily stopped his search and went to fetch the ball.

That's when he saw her, huddled up on the floor against the wall with her arms wrapped around her legs. He kicked the ball back out to the kids and turned his attention back to Chun Mei.

"Mei-Mei," he called out in a soft voice. He used to call her that as a young girl when she first came to the shrine, but she made no reaction to it now, "What happened?" he asked softly as he knelt down.

She looked up with her face tear stained, and slammed her head back onto the wall, "He said he doesn't like me," she said abruptly.

"Nonsense, that boy loves you," Goro responded as grabbed a tissue from his vest pocket and wiped away her tears.

"I know he does, I just don't know why he's lying to me. He's up to something, but I don't know what," Chun Mei said more confidently. Goro smiled as this was the Chun Mei he knew…the girl who wouldn't give up without answers.

Goro helped her up and held onto her face as he spoke, "Lei has a past you don't know about Chun Mei and he may find it hard to attach himself to something he may not want to let go later on. And don't forget that you have your own secrets as well," Goro eyed her.

Chun Mei nodded, but kindly ignored the last bit of his words about her secrets. She swallowed hard and wiped away the last of her tears. She may have known that he was lying and trying to cover up something, but she still couldn't help but feel brokenhearted at his words and demeanor.

She was about to ask Goro where Lei disappeared to when he readily informed her, "I saw him go into the forest in the direction of the berry patches. Go find him before the sun sets," he said and with haste she thanked him and went off on her search.

------

As Sokka and Uncle Qin walked and exchanged conversation about the best kind of meat in the four nations, Toph and Katara lingered in the back.

"So the big day is coming up!" Katara said excitedly as they walked back to where Aang would be performing.

"You're just like my mom," Toph commented as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Oh come on! I know you like to act tough in front of others, but I know deep down inside your squeeing mad about this," Katara replied.

Toph sighed out loud and started to walk slowly as Sokka and Uncle Qin walked further ahead. Katara followed suit and was about to ask what she was doing when Toph grabbed her by the arms, "I'm going to marry Aang!" she squealed happily and then turned serious, "You better not tell anyone I did that."

Katara nodded happily, "Promise!"

They continued to walk and the inevitable question popped out of Katara's mouth, "Sooo, have you thought about the newly-wed holiday after the marriage ceremony? You know…when a woman and a man—"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Toph interrupted her, but her blush betrayed her.

"Aha!" Katara exclaimed at the sight of her red cheeks, "So you have thought about it…that's so sweet!" Katara giggled and Toph rolled her eyes.

All four had reached the crowded street and a loud voice boomed from the center of the empty space, "Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, I welcome you to Gaoling's fifth annual celebrations of peace with the four nations!"

Everyone cheered and clapped, but Toph mostly clapped because this would completely interrupt Katara's earlier conversation. It was enough for her to endure the 'talk' with her mother; she didn't need it from her best friend too.

"And now a special presentation of the Ember Island Players and your savior and very own member of the Gaoling community…the Avatar!" the voice was drowned out by the loud cheer and only Toph laughed when she heard Sokka yell out, "But we helped defeat the Fire Lord too!"

------

"I hear someone coming," Mao whispered. All three members stood up to confront the intruder just in time to see Lei walk into the clearing….alone.

"What are you doing here? It's barely sunset," Ruo He asked and Lei looked at him with an annoyed glare.

"You are pathetic," Qi Tai laughed as he approached Lei, "You had one task and you couldn't even do that. Your father would disapprove," and with that Qi Tai hit a nerve.

"You leave him out of this!" Lei yelled out to him as a puff of smoke escaped his nostrils, his anger taking over.

"Fine, but it still doesn't excuse the fact that you're not in that village," Qi Tai responded as he pointed back towards the way he came.

"It doesn't matter because she's not there anymore," Lei answered more calmly.

Ruo He and Mao looked at each other and Qi Tai tilted his head disbelievingly, "Run that by me one more time," he too said calmly.

"She's not there anymore," Lei didn't hesitate to respond. But neither did Qi Tai as he sent a rage of fire towards his nephew. Lei quickly acted and back kicked the fire ball into the ground.

"What do you mean 'she's not there anymore'?" Qi Tai asked, his nerves on edge.

"I mean that as we speak she's probably miles away by now," Lei replied, "I made sure of it."

Contrary to what Qi Tai was being told by Lei, not far off from where they stood, Chun Mei walked through the wooded forest following Lei's deep footprints on the ground. She eventually heard his voice, but didn't fail to hear the voice of someone else. She surreptitiously walked a bit closer to the berry patch clearing and stood behind a tree within earshot of Lei and the other individual.

"Lei, what you've done is considered treason," Mao offered and Chun Mei only became confused at his words.

"Treason on what grounds?" Lei cried out, "This order used to rule by the hundreds and now look, it's just us! Times have changed and some of us need to move on," he said as he directed his message at Qi Tai.

Qi Tai approached him only a few feet away, "So you would rather risk the pride of the Fire Nation over some girl?" Qi Tai questioned him as he crossed his arms about his chest. _The Fire Nation?_ Chun Mei thought to herself as she continued to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"The pride of the Fire Nation or your pride?" Lei cunningly responded to which he received a punch in the gut by Qi Tai. Lei fell to his knees, the breath knocked out of him. Chun Mei came close to revealing herself, but held herself back.

"That girl is nothing more than a vessel with which the Fire Nation can restore its glory," Qi Tai talked through his teeth.

"And I love her enough to not let her fate come to that," Lei spoke out in short breaths. Chun Mei closed her eyes at his response as the truth started to reveal itself.

Qi Tai heard enough. He unsheathed a dagger from his belt, grabbed Lei by his hair and pulled his head back, the dagger pressed up against his neck, "Will those be your last words then for your insolence?" Qi Tai spat by his ear.

"My father was the better man," Lei said as his official last words, but before Qi Tai could drag the dagger against his neck in one swift motion, Chun Mei came out from behind the tree.

------

Everybody in the crowd "oohd" and "ahhd" at the spectacle on the ground and in the air. The Ember Island Players danced in a choreographed formation as Aang flew up above fire bending the skies. He fire bended several flying dragons and other mythical creatures.

Down below Katara described the performance to Toph, but Toph interrupted her, "Is he smiling?" she simply asked. Katara looked up and squinted.

"Yeah, he is, why?" she asked.

"That's all I need to know," she answered and Katara knew that what Toph really cared about was whether Aang was enjoying himself.

------

"Stop!" Chun Mei called out and all four men looked up at the young girl.

"Chun Mei no! Get out of here!" he yelled out with the dagger holding him back.

"Let him go, please," she asked but Qi Tai only smiled at her request.

"You're even much prettier up close," Qi Tai said. Mao and Ruo He approached Chun Mei from the back, but held themselves until Qi Tai gave them proper order to restrain her.

"Shut up," Lei struggled against him, but Qi Tai held him down by his hair.

"No really Lei, you've found yourself a very pretty girl indeed. She kind of looks like your mother," Qi Tai prodded the topic.

"I swear if you touch her I will kill you," Lei replied as he looked into her eyes.

"I don't think you're in any position to make threats, nephew," Qi Tai said as he held the dagger firmly against his skin.

The intensity pricked his neck a bit and Chun Mei took another step, "Please don't! I'll do whatever you ask, just please stop," she said sincerely.

"Whatever I ask, huh?" Qi Tai looked up at her at the proposition, "Tell him what you are." Lei's eyebrows creased in confusion and Chun Mei shook her head.

"Tell him or else," Qi Tai said as he added more pressure and blood trickled down his neck.

"Okay! Okay!" Chun Mei yelled out. Qi Tai stopped and let her continue, "Go on!" he said.

Chun Mei looked Lei in the eyes as she spoke, "Lei, I'm not who you think I am. My mother fell in love with a…" Qi Tai shook his head for her to go on, "She fell in love with a spirit who often took form as a human when he entered the mortal world from the Spirit World. They loved each other dearly and they eventually had me, but their union was forbidden. It threatened the balance of nature and so my father can no longer pass the threshold into the mortal world…and my mother died of a broken heart. Goro took care of my mother during her dying days and made him promise to take care of me…so he put me in the shrine to be looked after and he visited me often. Many of the spirits believed that an offspring between the two would upset the balance, but my father denied ever having me for my protection…an offspring capable of human feelings, but also capable of spiritual powers can only exist in one human being…the Avatar. I'm an abomination and capable of destroying the fragile balance we're currently in."

"Bravo! I couldn't have said it better myself!" Qi Tai laughed as Chun Mei wiped her tears away. Lei was speechless, but only because didn't know she kept so much hidden inside…similar to how he kept so much hidden from her.

"How do you know about me?" Chun Mei asked angrily.

"I accompanied a Fire Nation general, General Zhao, to Wan Shi Tong's library. It was there that I found documentation of your parents' relationship. I speculated for years about your existence and it wasn't until Lei moved to Gangwen that I sensed something…so I stuck around and then one day a child had fallen from a tree and broke their leg. You happened to be nearby and, lo and behold, you used your spiritual energy to heal the child. Impressed yet?" Qi Tai responded. Mao and Ruo He smiled cleverly in the back, but Chun Mei glared at him.

"Now, I want you to do a little test for me, to see what exactly you are capable of," Chun Mei was about to protest but Qi Tai held her back, "Ah ah ah! I'm holding the dagger, so if you don't want a mess, do what I say."

"What do you want?" Chun Mei asked her jaw tight.

"Oh this is going to be fun…I want you to take one of the Avatar's bending abilities," he demanded.

"Please don't do this," Chun Mei begged.

"See, now you know why the spirits didn't want you to exist! You go against everything the Avatar stands for; you have abilities that rival his own! Now I want you to be a good girl for Lei and take away his….hmm, which one? Thinking….thinking….Take away his air bending as a test and use it as if you were an air bender!" Qi Tai laughed.

"What if he's using it? His life could be in jeopardy," Chun Mei expressed great concern towards the Avatar.

"Now you're beginning to see the whole grand scheme of it, aren't you?" Qi Tai responded and then turned to Lei, "You have a very smart girl Lei, very smart…Now if she knows what's best for you, she will do what I say, right?"

"Mei don't do it," he called out to her and he used his nickname for her to stress the severity of the situation.

"Please Mei, don't and see what will happen!" Qi Tai mocked. Chun Mei looked at Lei and mouthed the words "I'm sorry" before she closed her eyes and focused her spiritual powers on one being…the Avatar.

* * *

**Notes**: Oh man! Is that a good enough cliff hanger for you guys???? *dodges raging Taang fans* I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! So now you know there's more to Chun Mei than meets the eye! She can manipulate spiritual energies around people to her own convenience and then use other people's bending as her own…she kind of sucks you dry…Leave a smoking hot review and express my craziness for leaving you hanging there! Lol! I love you all! : )


	5. Chapter 5: Missing

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes**: Happy (late) Valentine's Day! Lol! I would have updated yesterday, but it was a pretty busy day celebrating my mom's birthday and then going to a Marc Anthony concert later that night! It was simply AMAZING! Anyway, my family distracted me today so this chapter is a bit later than usual! Sorry! But, here is your next chapter! Enjoy and don't forget to leave some reviews! : )

* * *

**Chapter Five: Missing**

Chun Mei had her eyes closed as the four men looked on with anticipation. Ruo He noticed the birds flee from the area and he pointed it out to Mao. The area had grown silent and the winds had died down. Qi Tai let go of Lei's hair and the dagger at the base of his throat loosened slightly as he too realized the change in the atmosphere. Lei was about to take a chance and remove himself from Qi Tai's grasp when he saw Chun Mei open her eyes.

Her irises and pupils had turned white and her lips moved as if she was talking, but she emitted no sound.

---

Back in Gaoling, the sky was completely orange now with hints of red and pink as the sun was close to making its complete descent. The Ember Island Players had pulled out people from the audience to dance with them and others were hypnotized with Aang's fire bending tricks. At first he did some tricks in the air, but decided to do most of the fire bending from one of the tallest roof tops.

Aang gave his fire bending a break and grabbed his glider. He threw it into the air and ran onto it, as if he was air surfing…something he had learned during that one spiritual journey with Roku when he was younger. People clapped at his ability to manipulate air and glide through the skies and he never felt prouder at being an air bender.

Aang flew higher to reach up to the pink colored clouds, where he then used his water bending to manipulate the moisture in them. He rested his back against the glider and casually made designs up in the sky. Doing this brought him back memories of when he lived in the Air Temple…he and his fellow air benders would take turns and draw things in the sky and whoever was the first to guess was next in line to draw with the clouds.

"Wow, Aang's pretty far up," Sokka commented as he squinted up into the sky, "But he does have great drawing skills….That's a moose lion!" He called out excitedly as people were trying to figure out what the design was in the sky.

Toph shook her head at the water bender and turned to Katara, "Is he really that far up?" she asked.

"Yeah he is. The last time I saw him that high was when we were in the desert, but that was only for a few seconds. Maybe he has a lot more air up there to keep him safe," she replied as she knew that Toph sounded kind of worried.

Toph nodded and didn't fail to smile as Sokka called out another animal, "That's a sea lion! In your face!" he said as he turned to a small girl next to him, who he was obviously competing with.

---

The four Hang Lo members saw as Chun Mei gradually brought her hands out in front of her. She clapped them together and the sound was so loud that the four men covered their ears. Qi Tai had dropped the dagger, but continued to stare at Chun Mei in awe.

With her arms straight out before her, Chun Mei slowly started to pull her hands apart inch by inch. A small orb began to form in the space between her hands and as her hands continued to pull apart, the orb grew bigger. Lei saw that the orb was just a ball of air spinning around and a sickening feeling settled at the bottom of his stomach as he knew from where the source of air was coming.

---

Aang happily soared through the air, but he suddenly felt a jolt in his glider, as if he had lost a couple of inches of altitude. He momentarily ignored the small disturbance, but another jolt in his glider let him fall a few more inches. He air bended himself a bit higher only to fall back down to a lower altitude. He turned himself over and grabbed his glider like he normally did when flying through the sky. Aang bended the air around him to push him faster across the sky, but he was only going at slow rate. He descended a bit more and for the first time in his life he was scared of falling.

"Hey why did Aang stop?" Sokka asked as he scratched his head.

"What do you mean?" Toph asked as she pulled away from a conversation she was having with her uncle.

"He was halfway through that Shirshu and just stopped," Sokka replied and other people commented on the same fact.

Uncle Qin looked up as well and noticed the small dot in the sky that was the Avatar, "He seems to have stopped midair," he said.

"Stopped midair?" Toph asked curiously, "He can't do that for long, he needs to keep moving with the air to stay afloat," she stated matter-of-factly. Aang had told her that many years ago when she had asked him why he loved air bending so much.

A prickly feeling traveled up and down Toph's skin as she felt everyone look up at the sky and people's heartbeats quicken in worry. This was one of the moments she hated not being able to see.

She was about to ask if anything had changed when people gasped and cried out loud collectively. Toph's sightless eyes widened at the shrieks and she turned to her uncle for an explanation. His words were something she never thought would hear, "He's falling."

---

The sphere of air between Chun Mei's hands grew two times the size of an ordinary Earth Kingdom foot ball. She eventually stopped and the sphere spun around between her hands for a few moments before she quickly slammed it towards her abdomen area…what most people would call the Sea of Chi. She then gasped for air as the color of her eyes returned and she became herself again.

She tried to maintain her balance and was about to fall when Lei got up from his knees and grabbed her. He gently brushed the hair away from her eyes and he saw them glaze over with tears as she looked up at him, "I'm sorry," she repeated since she knew she had committed a terrible act. He shook his head and was about to give her words of comfort when they heard Qi Tai clap from behind.

"Spectacular performance!" Qi Tai boomed as he grabbed the dagger from the floor, "Had me on the edge of my seat…Now, I'm curious, can you use the air bending yourself?" he asked as he held the dagger on the sharp end, as if ready to throw if tempted.

---

"He can't be falling!" Toph yelled out as she held onto her uncle's arm.

"He let go of his glider!" Sokka said and Katara covered her mouth in horror. The water bender looked around for sources of water, but nothing turned up to be enough to save him.

A million things were running through Toph's mind as she tried to grasp the situation. She turned to her uncle and through clenched teeth she pleaded with him, "Catch him!"

"At the rate he's falling I can kill him," her uncle replied as he knew that she was referring to using his earth bending.

"Please! Just do it!" Toph tried not to yell at her favorite relative, but the situation was too dire to act calm. Uncle Qin looked up above him and saw the young man fall at a fast pace.

"Sokka move these people away, now!" Uncle Qin told him and Sokka didn't hesitate to yell at people to move aside.

Uncle Qin looked up again, "He's coming down to fast, by the time these people move out it'll be too late," he said as he turned to his niece.

Toph let go of him, "No it won't!" she said as she stomped on the floor once and with her arms out in front of her she punched the air twice. With that the top layer of ground shifted from its place and moved the entire audience further down the street. Many people fell back at the sharpness in movement, but Katara and Sokka held their balance as they too were shifted away from the scene.

All that was left behind was Uncle Qin and Toph in an area of disturbed and fresh soil. The buildings that surrounded them along the streets suffered fractures from Toph shifting the ground, but she could care less at the moment.

"He's coming," Uncle Qin whispered as he readied himself to bend the earth in front of him. Once Aang hit a certain altitude Uncle Qin bent down to punch the ground and bended the earth down into a crater. He then used both hands to lift the ground up into the air about twenty feet and clapped his hands together the capture Aang.

"I got him," he said relieved as he brought down his joined hands and the earth rushed back onto the surface. Aang's body landed softly on the ground and with one swish of his hand Uncle Qin blew away the dust cloud.

Toph ran up to him the moment he touched the ground as did Katara, Sokka, and Uncle Qin. She fell down to her knees and grabbed his face. He was freezing cold and he felt lifeless. Her hand quickly moved down to his chest, but she could hardly feel a beat.

"Katara!" she yelled out as tears threatened to spill over, "He's fading do something!"

Katara hastily kneeled down and opened her canteen bag of water. She bended some water out and enveloped her hands with it. She first went to his face and then traveled down his chest and stomach. Her hands stopped at his stomach, "I don't know, it's like a part of him has been sucked right out of him."

"Do something!" Toph yelled out again and with that the earth slightly rumbled. People started to gather around the scene and slightly jumped back with the small earth quake.

Katara looked up at Sokka wide-eyed and he looked scared out of his mind as well. She looked back down at Aang and focused her healing energies at the pit of stomach. The water no longer enveloped her hands, but instead spun around over the area of examination.

Dead silence fell on the crowd around as they waited in worry. And then that's when they heard it…the Avatar gasp for breath. Katara turned to see a conscious Aang and laughed in relief, "He's okay!"

The moment he took that breath Toph felt his heartbeat grow stronger and warmth flooded back into his face.

"Aang!" she said as she held his hand. He gripped her hand back and looked up her; the worry never left her eyes.

He lifted his other hand and pushed her bangs away from her face, "I think today is cursed," he whispered in an attempt to make her laugh, but a tear just slid down her face.

"Don't joke like that, not after what just happened," she whispered as she ran her fingers through his hair. Aang slightly nodded and she placed a small kiss on his forehead. He looked up beside him to find Katara and Sokka looking down at him.

Sokka kneeled down to him and patted his shoulder, "What happened up there buddy? One minute you're playing around and the next you started falling."

Aang looked straight up into the sky, a blank expression on his face, "I can't air bend."

---

"Well can you?" Ruo He asked as he and Mao approached Qi Tai, "Can you air bend?" Lei kept Chun Mei protected in his embrace, but she motioned to move back and he loosened his grip. She kept an eye on the dagger held firmly in Qi Tai's hand as she lifted her arm to send a sharp thrust of wind towards a tree. The air caused the branch to slice away from the tree and crash down onto the floor.

"Most impressive," Mao commented, "No wonder she intrigues you so, Qi Tai."

"Now Lei, be an obedient nephew and let our precious girl go," Qi Tai as he eyed Chun Mei in Lei's arms.

Lei spat at him and held Chun Mei firmly against him, "Over my dead body."

Qi Tai simply wiped the spit away, "Why do people always say that and complicate matters?" Qi Tai joked as he turned to Mao and Ruo He who laughed slightly.

Qi Tai's smile slowly faded away and then he grew serious, "Mao, the Yu Yang darts please," he said and Mao took out a small crossbow from beneath his cloak, already armed with one dart.

"Wait," Chun Mei pleaded again and this time she separated herself from Lei, "Can I have one last moment with him, please?" she asked kindly. Qi Tai thought it over carefully and then gave a stiff nod in consent.

Chun Mei turned to Lei and placed her hands on his face, "Do you remember when we used to play in the river?" she whispered to him as she looked into his amber eyes.

"You can't do this," Lei told as he placed his hands over hers, "I won't let you."

"Listen to me," she said urgently, "Do you remember?" she asked again and this time he nodded.

"Do you remember how to get there from here?" and although he was confused at her question, he nodded again.

"Good because I don't, so after I distract run," she barely whispered. He was about to question her when she pulled him down for a kiss. It had to have been one of the most blissful moments in a potentially dangerous situation. Chun Mei reluctantly pulled back, but Lei leaned in for another one.

"Enough!" Qi Tai said disgustedly and the two separated unwillingly, "Ruo He grab her."

"Wait!" Chun Mei said and held her hands up in the air, "There's something else you don't know about me," she said as she moved to block Lei.

"No, I believe I know everything there is to know about you," Qi Tai scratched the side of his head thoughtfully.

"Do you?" Chun Mei smiled at him her hands still up in the air.

"Humor me then, what don't I know about you?" Qi Tai said as he swung the dagger in his hand back and forth.

Chun Mei swallowed heavily and calculated the consequences of what she was about to do. She shrugged her shoulders and answered with a smile, "I'm an earth bender."

With that she closed her fists and a wall of earth rose up in front and around Qi Tai and the others, but not before Qi Tai took quick action and threw his dagger. Lei was just as fast and shielded her from the throw only to be stabbed on the back of his right shoulder.

Lei cried out in pain and Chun Mei went to extract the dagger when he stopped her, "No leave it," he said in excruciating pain, "If you take it now, I'll just leave a trail of blood behind and bleed to death."

"Why did you do that?" she asked as she held on to his face, "You've already suffered enough because of me."

"Isn't it obvious," he whispered as he caressed her cheek. A flash of fire ruined the moment and they turned to see Qi Tai and the others try to climb over the walls.

"Run," Lei said as he grabbed her hand with his left and with that they ran through the wooded forest.

---

Sokka grabbed one of Aang's arms and Uncle Qin grabbed the other and helped him up from the ground. Toph walked up to him and placed an arm around his waist and his arm around on her shoulder for him to lean on.

Aang noticed the people whispering and he decided to address them, "I'm alright, please go on with your festivities. Don't discontinue them on my account," he said.

He then looked down at Toph and then at the others, "Let's go home, please. I have to figure out what's wrong with me."

Toph quickly asked Uncle Qin to find her parents and he did so as he left Aang in the care of Toph and his friends. A few minutes later the four of them arrived at the Bei Fong estate and Toph didn't hesitate to boss the servants around with orders such as "Get him cold water" or "Bring a damp cloth."

Toph sat him in one of the living room chairs and everyone else took a seat. One of the servants returned with a glass of water and Toph took it for him. She felt how warm the water was and reprimanded the servant for her blunder, "I said cold water, now!" she said and slammed the cup back into the servants hands, splashing her clothes.

"Toph!" Katara spoke out at her friend's rude behavior. She got up and water bended the liquid off of the servant's attire, "Another cup of water, please?" she asked kindly and the servant gladly obeyed.

She turned to Toph, "What's wrong with you? I could have made it cold if you wanted," she said as she crossed her arms.

"What's wrong with me? Are you seriously asking me this question?" Toph smiled at her, but her words were like acid, "Aang fell from the sky and I couldn't do anything about it. I had no clue what was happening and I was this close to losing him."

"He's our friend too Toph! We felt helpless too," Katara reasoned with her as she pointed to herself and Sokka, but Toph just ignored her.

"Can you guys leave us alone please?" Aang asked and both Katara and Sokka quickly stepped out of the room.

"I don't want to hear it," Toph said as she walked to the window and felt the coolness drift from the glass panes as the sun finally set and night took over.

"What do you want to hear then?" Aang asked as he stood up from his chair.

"Don't be smart with me, it doesn't suit you," she said as she turned around to his direction.

"And your attitude doesn't suit you. You know Katara's right," he said as he slowly walked up to her.

Toph closed her eyes as she tried not to cry in front of him. She knew Katara was right…that there was nothing they could do, but watch. Everything just happened so suddenly and it hurt to recall the feelings she experienced.

"Is this how you felt last year?" she asked and he knew she was talking about the incident with Koh.

He nodded, "That and so much more," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," she whispered back, but he just closed the space between them and they hugged each other firmly.

"I love you," she murmured into his chest.

"I love you too," Aang replied as he pushed her head back and leaned down to kiss her. Their lips parted soundly for a few moments and then Aang pulled back at the sound of fireworks outside.

"Are you two lovebirds done yet? I'm hungry," Sokka called out from outside the room and both Toph and Aang rolled their eyes.

"Sokka! They're still talking!" Katara shushed him.

Toph ignored them for the moment and before discussing it openly with the others, she went to the heart of the matter, "Do you really think your air bending is gone?"

Aang let her go and performed one of his traditional air bending moves, but nothing happened. He let his arms fall to the side, "I don't know how it happened," he said as he looked at his fingers, "It felt like someone was sucking it out of me."

Toph walked up to him and hugged him from the back, "We'll find out what happened and get your air bending back, I promise."

Aang took a deep breath and looked down at her hands on his stomach. He rubbed them with his own and turned around in her embrace, "Maybe we should go and eat before Sokka starves to death." He said as he successfully changed the topic.

They walked hand in hand out towards the others, but Aang couldn't help but feel like a part of him was missing...a part of him he grew up with and now felt lost without.

* * *

**Notes**: OH MAN! Craziness, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I tried to visually convey Chun Mei zapping Aang and Aang falling! I hope you enjoyed the suspense in those parts! Don't forget to leave a review and some love!!!


	6. Chapter 6: Smile

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes1**: Hmm, what happened with the reviews? I felt so saddened this week! *tear* I hope I get more reviews this time around…

**Notes2**: WTF fanfiction(dot)net! I do apologize for the extreme lateness, but fanfiction(dot)net was acting stupid and didn't let me log on on Sunday!!! GRRR! Anyway....I hope you guys enjoy the upcoming fluffiness! Here you go! Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Chapter Six:** **Smile**

Aang and Toph walked out of the living area to find a distressed and hungry Sokka huddled on the floor and a patient Katara with a cup of water in one hand and her other hand hidden behind her back. Toph immediately knew what was hidden behind Katara and bit her lip in disappointment.

"Toph I hope you don't mind but one of the servants asked me if we would be having dinner and I said yes before Sokka starts to eat himself," she said as she looked back down at her brother.

"Yeah that's fine, I'm kind of hungry too," Toph replied. Katara moved to give Aang the cup of water, her other hand still hidden behind, and Aang took the cup with a thanks.

"Katara, I'm sorry for earlier," Toph said sincerely as Aang gulped down the water.

"Don't worry about it, I would've acted the same if it was Zuko," Katara gently shook her head and touched Toph's shoulder.

"So, is your air bending really gone, Aang?" Sokka asked from the floor concerned for his friend's wellbeing.

"Yeah it's gone," Aang responded flatly and then it hit him. He wasn't the only thing that fell from the sky, "My glider? What happened to my glider?"

Both Katara and Toph winced at his question, "Along with the water, the servant also brought me this," Katara answered as she pulled out the contents from behind her. She held splintered pieces of wood and torn wings, "It was brought in by a couple of villagers…it was all they could find."

It pained Aang to see one of his most prized possessions shattered into meaningless pieces, especially since it was given to him by Toph. He let go of Toph and exchanged the cup for the splintered wood with Katara. Toph slipped her arm through his and her other hand traveled up to his face, where she made him look down back at her, "I will get you a new one, I promise," she whispered.

"Depends if I'll ever fly again," he whispered back and at the sound of his voice at that moment Toph would have given anything, even her own earth bending, to feel a smile on his face again.

------

"Why didn't you use your earth bending before?" Lei asked while they dodged tree trunks and jumped over roots as they ran through the heavily wooded forest.

"You mean, while Qi Tai was holding a dagger to your throat? You know my earth bending is terrible, I didn't want to risk the chance," she replied with deep breaths.

They ran for what seemed like hours in the extensive area around Gangwen, which stretched out for miles. The slowed down and Lei figured he shouldn't delay the question anymore.

"So you're half spirit?" he asked for clarification.

Chun Mei sighed slightly and shrugged her shoulders, "I know it's weird and rare. But I'm still me, it doesn't change who I am," she reasoned. The last thing she wanted was for him to look at her differently.

He stopped abruptly and turned around to look at her, "You will always be Mei to me," he told her lovingly.

She blushed slightly and decided to change the subject over to him, "And you're a fire bender from a secret society bent on bringing down the Avatar?" she joked and he half-smiled at her concise description.

"You're right, I am a fire bender, but I'm not apart of them anymore," he replied seriously.

Chun Mei swung their joined hands in the air, "I know you're not one of them," she supported him. He smiled back at her and the conversation continued, "Why did you lie about your fire bending?"

"I had just been accepted into this new community and I didn't want to ruin it by saying that I was a fire bender. I still used it in secret while working though," he answered. Chun Mei blushed again as mental images of Lei working at the blacksmith shop ran through her mind. She would sneak glances when she passed by and admire him at work.

Lei looked back at her and saw her dazed expression and pink cheeks, "Are you thinking of a certain fire bender?" he asked with a smirk.

She snapped out of it and blushed a deeper red. Lei laughed and the act caused a sharp pain to sting from his shoulder.

Chun Mei watched as Lei fell to the floor on his knees and she bent down next to him, "We can't stop Lei, we have to get past the river and get to Gaoling," she said as she held his face up.

"Why Gaoling?" he replied with a wince from the pain on his shoulder.

"It's where the Avatar lives," she answered as her eyes drifted to his wound, "I can only give him his air bending back by touching him. It's easy for me to take other's bending, but giving them back takes a bit more work. I just hope I didn't severely hurt him when I took it," she said guiltily.

"I bet he's fine, unlike me," Lei laughed, but regretted it when he felt another sharp pain, "I don't know how long I can take this," he tried to laugh again.

"Lie down," Chun Mei told him and blushed when she continued her sentence, "And take off your shirt."

"What?" Lei asked, not sure of what she had planned.

"I can heal you, but it'll be easier with your shirt off to see the wound and to have you lie down when I do it," Chun Mei clarified.

"I don't know how far back the others are; they may be close by," Lei lied to her. He knew the others were really far behind especially since he and Mei had a head start and the outer forests of Gangwen were vast.

"I know you're lying," Chun Mei said as she plopped herself on the ground.

"What? How?" Lei asked curiously.

"You take a big gulp before you tell a lie. It's something I've noticed since we first met…that's how I knew you were lying to me when you told me you didn't love me," she admitted to him.

Before he could reply with an apology she lifted herself up a bit and ripped the area on his shirt around the wound, "Take it off so we can get going," she smiled at him.

He decided it was best to take up the conversation later on and gave in to her demand. He pulled out the edges of the shirt from his pants and she helped him remove the rest. She shifted to move behind him to see the extent of the wound, but he quickly moved away.

"Lei I need to see the position of the dagger before I pull it out, what's wrong?" she asked and he figured he couldn't hide it anymore.

He slowly turned around for her and she understood why he kept his back hidden. There was a large black tribal tattoo that covered almost his entire back. The characters "Hang Lo" at the center weren't in ink…it was branded onto his skin.

Before she could ask, he answered her immediate thoughts, "Ever member has it…it's part of the initiation process. The position only goes from father to son and there's no way out of it. New members have to undergo hours of torture and agonizing pain to be formerly accepted into the Order. I was on the verge of death when I got this on my back…it's something I'm not exactly proud of," he tried to laugh it off and was going to put his shirt back on when he felt her hand on his back.

He shivered at her touch as she traced the lines and markings. His story brought her to tears and she hated the fact that he went through this. She leaned in a gently kissed the space between his shoulder blades, "I hate what those men did to you," she whispered.

His heart melted at the small gesture, "I try to think on the bright side."

"There's a bright side to this?" Chun Mei asked incredulously as she touched his back again.

"When the Avatar defeated Fire Lord Ozai the Hang Lo Order fled to avoid capture. If I wasn't in the order I would have never left the Fire Nation, but since I am, I left and I came here. You're the bright side to all of this Mei," he answered as he turned around to look at her, "Just promise me I won't lose you to them."

Overwhelmed and touched by his words, Chun Mei nodded and leaned in to kiss him on the lips. After a couple of moments, she briefly pulled back, "I promise," she whispered against his lips and resumed the kiss.

------

All four friends sat at the dinner table when they heard Toph's parents and uncle approach the dining room.

"I don't believe you! My future son fell over 200 feet and you want me to believe you?" Lao's voice echoed and the sliding door to the dining room opened to reveal him, Poppy, and Uncle Qin.

"Aang, please tell your father here that what I say is true," Uncle Qin begged kindly and Aang nodded in response. Poppy gasped and quickly approached her son.

"You see!" Uncle Qin spoke out, "I told you I wasn't lying!" he said as he took a seat next to Sokka at the table.

Poppy held Aang against her and patted his head while Lao replied, "You're always lying! I just didn't think this was an exception."

"Sibling rivalry?" Katara whispered over to Toph.

"Since they were in my gran's womb," she replied.

"Tell me about it," Katara said in reference to her own sibling. The two chortled a bit before the attention was brought back to Aang.

"What happened?" Poppy asked as she let go of Aang and took her seat at the table. Aang explained, again, what had happened to him and the fact that he couldn't air bend.

"Is it Koh?" Lao asked worried that the same episode from last year may repeat again. Toph went to grab his hand under the table and he squeezed it gently before he replied, "No it's not possible…not after what the other Avatars imprisoned him in his lair."

Food dishes began to appear on the table and as Sokka attacked most of it, Aang continued his thought, "But I do think it's spirit related."

"What do you mean?" Toph asked in his direction. This time instead of joined hands under the table, Aang held her hand on his lap while his other hand played with the charm on the bracelet he gave her last year.

"It's kind of like how I took Ozai's fire bending with spirit energy. I can't explain it, but whoever's doing this knows how to manipulate spirit energy and potentially take bending away. And whoever it is…doesn't want me around," he admitted. Toph's neck twitched slightly at the idea of somebody wanting to eliminate the Avatar. If she ever found the lowlife, she would crush them to the ground with no hesitation.

"You still have your other bending right?" Sokka asked with a semi-full mouth.

"Yeah, I can feel the others with me, I just…" he sighed in frustration, "I just don't feel like an air bender anymore."

"Don't say that Aang," Katara chipped in, "You will always be a master air bender and I'm sure we can resolve this problem. Don't lose hope," she smiled at him, but he seemed too focused on the air bending sign on Toph's charm bracelet.

"I'm kind of tired, will you excuse me please?" he asked and gently left Toph's hand behind as he got up to leave.

"Perhaps it is best if we postpone the wedding," Poppy commented.

Aang turned at the doorway to address her, "No!" he called out and then clarified his outburst, "It's enough that I lost my air bending, I don't want to lose this either," he admitted.

"It won't be for long, dear one," Poppy replied, "Maybe until this is all resolved and then—"

"When you're the Avatar you don't know how long you have," he interrupted her, "I don't want it postponed," and with that he left the dining room, Toph not far behind.

------

The thought that they were being followed left them completely. Chun Mei ran her fingers through Lei's long hair and their kiss deepened with the act. She held onto his uplifted face as she towered over his cross-legged figure on her knees. As their lips parted against one another, Lei also got on his knees to gain a better angle.

Chun Mei accidentally brushed her hand against the imbedded dagger and Lei pulled back in pain, "I'm sorry, so sorry," she quickly apologized.

Lei sat back and licked his lips in satisfaction, "Maybe we should get this thing out of me first," he said. Chun Mei nodded in agreement as her mind replayed the last five minutes over and over. She shook her head and looked around for a small thick branch. When she found one nearby, she grabbed it and wrapped part of Lei's shirt around it.

"Here, bite down on this," Chun Mei offered.

"I don't need it," Lei said honestly.

"It's going to hurt," she urged him.

"I can handle it," he said and rested himself against the ground. Chun Mei figured it was because of the torture he talked about as being part of the initiation process.

"I wish you had told me that before I did it," she said as she put her hand down near his wound.

"I know, but it was fun to watch. Remember that one time when I dared you to—," at that moment Chun Mei pulled the dagger and Lei bit his lip in excruciating pain. He lifted his leg up and slammed it against the floor when she applied pressure. He let out several native tongue curses and squirmed under her touch.

Chun Mei used her spiritual energy to heal him; just like she healed that boy's broken leg the day Qi Tai discovered her. Within moments his flesh grew back and his wound was completely healed.

"Done!" she said happily and Lei scrunched a bit to see that the stab was indeed gone.

"Much better," he said as he got up and moved his shoulder up and down.

"Now come on before we get unexpected visitors to tag along," Chun Mei unwrapped the stick from the shirt and passed the shirt back to him.

She got up, dusted off the dirt from her green work dress and tied up her long hair in a loose bun to get it out her face. As she flattened out the front of the dress she thought back to Goro and wondered if he would understand their sudden departure…and her shrine sisters! She had a duty at the shrine.

"A copper piece for your thoughts," Lei said as he appeared next to her. He cleaned off the dagger and had placed it on his belt. Chun Mei turned around and with her earth bending she covered whatever trace they left behind.

"I hope Goro will be alright without us and Fuyu is going to have a fit when I don't show up tomorrow at the shrine," she said as she turned back to him.

Lei saw the concern in her eyes and he too felt guilty for leaving his friend behind without notice. He grabbed her hand and touched the side of her face with his other hand, "I promise we'll come back soon."

He kissed her gently on the forehead and she returned the kiss on the crook of neck, "Let's go," he whispered, "We have an Avatar to warn."

------

Toph followed Aang to his room. She waited in the hallway a couple of minutes to give him some alone time, but she gave in to her impatience and knocked on his door. No answer came to her and she knocked again, "Aang?"

She felt him come towards the door at the sound of her voice and he slid it open. He walked back inside the room and plopped himself on the bed, his back to her. He would have normally opened the door with his air bending, so it took him a while to figure out that he had to do without.

Toph slid the door closed behind her and went to climb on the bed. She crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned her forehead against the back of his head and rubbed it gently. Her lips settled at spot above the edge of his shirt and she gently kissed the area before she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Smile for me," Toph whispered by his ear. In any other circumstance, Toph would have pushed him to not give up and would have given him hell for being such a wimp. But Toph was older now, and more understanding. The last thing she wanted to do was to punch him or yell at him after what he lost.

"Give me something to smile about," he replied as he went to hold her hands. He initially wanted to be alone, but he felt more comfortable when she was around.

"Remember when I dressed up as a boy in that Earth Kingdom village in the northwest because only boys could compete in the earth bending brawls," Aang nodded and she felt the edges of his mouth twitch into a smile.

"And when I won I ran up to you and kissed you in the middle of the arena in front of everyone," she finished and Aang laughed at the memory.

"Everyone thought I preferred men to women for months," Aang continued to laugh, "Zuko even got news of it and sent his own 'love letter' to me as a joke."

Toph laughed with him and then kissed him on the cheek, "I love to hear you laugh," she whispered to him.

"I'm sorry for what happened at dinner…I just thought that after getting rid of Ozai, his supporters, and Koh, I'd live a normal life. I finally have a family and I want to continue to have a family with you, but sometimes I can't help but think that I'm not destined to have any of it because I'm constantly in danger," he confessed.

He detached himself from her and lied down against the bed. He opened his arms and Toph followed suit. She rested herself against him and slipped her hand underneath his shirt where she caressed him.

"I know we've had our ups and downs, Aang. These past five years with rebuilding and capturing lingering supporters of Ozai have been exhausting. You are meant to have a family, everyone has a right to one, no matter how big or small. Just because you're the Avatar doesn't mean that you should deny yourself that. Look at the past Avatars, they've—" and that's when it hit Toph.

Aang urged her to go on, "They've what?"

"Aang that's it!" Toph jolted upright.

"What's it?" Aang asked confused.

"Your past Avatars! Remember when we were about to leave Koh's lair last year, Kyoshi told us that the Avatar has many foes and that she had to deal with them during her time as an Avatar. Maybe she knows something we don't. Maybe she knows who's behind this."

Aang took in her words and he did recall Kyoshi's warning. Toph was right; he could contact his past Avatars and see if any of them were familiar with his case. He turned to her and playfully pinned her against the bed, "You know you're the best, right?" he said as he kissed her jaw line and the area above her betrothal necklace.

Toph wrapped her legs around his waist and giggled against his fleeting kisses, "So I've been told…Do I get some kind of sweet reward for my extreme awesomeness?"

"I can think of a couple of things," he whispered against her ear that made the small hairs on her arms stand up in excitement.

Aang pushed her hair away and continued to gently nibble on her earlobe. She tried to remember the last time he did this, but her mind was far from fully functional at the moment. Aang knew that her earlobe was a very sensitive spot for her and not only was it satisfying for her, but he enjoyed the gentle purrs and moans he elicited.

Toph's breathing grew erratic and she nudged him on the cheek slightly, "Kiss me Twinkle Toes," she whispered and Aang didn't hesitate to meet her request. He closed his lips over hers and Toph smiled against their kiss. With her legs still wrapped around his waist, she flipped over and she now straddled him. She laced her hands with his and held them up against his head as their kiss intensified.

Then an awkward sound emanated from Aang's stomach. The kiss stopped when Toph pulled back, "Someone's hungry," she laughed.

"Sokka probably ate all of the food by now," Aang stated and Toph laughed again at what probably was the truth.

"This is the Aang that I know," Toph said as she twirled a piece of his hair.

"I always feel better when you're around," Aang replied as he kissed her chin.

"Just don't mope around anymore because I will find out why this is happening to you and before you know you'll be flying around like you always do," she said sincerely.

"So we're gonna go on another spirit journey?" Aang asked as he played with her hands.

"Yup, but I want you to eat something first," Toph replied as, "I can't have my husband be only skin and bones."

"I love it when you say that," Aang whispered to her.

"I know," she smiled and she knew that he was talking about the 'my husband' part, "You're going to hear it plenty of more times…"

"I'm looking forward to it," he said as he flipped her over again her giggles echoing throughout the room and dark halls.

* * *

**Notes**: Awww, this chapter definitely came out fluffier than intended, but I promise things will pick up in the next few chapters! And just to get people talking, I would like to know what's your favorite thing about Toph/Aang's relationship (whether it's based on my story or the show) and your fave thing about Lei/Chun Mei's relationship!


	7. Chapter 7: Acquisitor

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes**: I'm baaaack! I apologize for my long absence! Kind of had "writer's block" but not really in terms of the story (I have that all planned out), but in terms of my writing motivation, haha! But all is well and I promise not to be away for that long again! Here is your next chapter and I promise to have the next one up soon! Don't forget to leave a review!

* * *

**Chapter Seven:** **Acquisitor**

Aang continued to tickle Toph, but he soon found himself thrown back onto the other side of the bed where Toph retaliated with her own tickling attacks. The two laughed joyously until a voice suddenly interrupted them.

"Aww they're so cute!" Katara clapped her hands together and Sokka followed behind. He gagged a bit and Katara shoved him slightly. He held his balance since he carried a plate of food for Aang. He stuck his tongue out at his sister and returned his attention back to Toph and Aang.

"So I hear you kids have made up?" Sokka referred to their recent tickling session and offered the plate of food to Aang. Aang sat up and took the plate, which was mostly made of green, "I ate all of the meat during dinner," Sokka assured him and rubbed his stomach. Aang smiled and started to eat the contents on the plate while the others talked.

"How are you and Zuko, Katara?" Toph asked as she too sat on the edge of the bed.

"Annoying!" Sokka answered for her, "I mean, is kissing in public really all that necessary?" he complained as he leaned against the wall.

"Oh, like you and Suki don't do that?" Katara replied and crossed her arms.

"For your information, Suki and I are mature adults," Sokka answered quite proudly and all three friends burst out laughing.

"Yeah right Snoozles, does being mature consist of blowing kisses at one another and calling Suki 'Sukikins'?" Toph commented and Katara pointed and laughed at him.

Toph got him on that one and he changed the topic over to her and Aang, "You two are just the same…we're all fools in love," he stated wisely.

"You make it sound so poetic," Aang replied as he placed the empty plate behind him.

"Hey, Sokka is as Sokka does," he replied nonchalantly and Katara smacked her forehead at the sound of those words.

"Did you really just say that?" Toph said as she tried not to laugh out loud.

"Wow…that's new Sokka," Aang smiled as he scratched the back of his head. The Water Tribe warrior was always the….special one in the group. Sokka puffed out his chest a bit and Katara flicked him on the arm.

"Before my dear brother makes a fool of himself again, I wanted to ask you guys a question," Katara said as she sat on the floor in the space in between the door and the bed. Sokka slid down to the floor while Toph and Aang followed suit and rested their backs against the side of the bed.

"What's up Katara?" Aang asked once they all settled themselves on the floor.

"Earlier at dinner Toph's father mentioned 'Koh' and you guys looked a bit nervous when he did. Who is he?" Katara said as she played with her hands.

Aang looked down at the floor and then at Toph, "We have to tell them sooner or later," she said.

"Tell us what?" Sokka sounded curious.

Aang had refused to tell anyone what had happened last year mainly because he found it hard to acknowledge the situation himself. Toph grabbed his hand and spoke for him.

"Koh is an ancient spirit and a giant centipede that's also known as the Face Stealer. He went after me last year because my spirit had attacked him centuries ago. He found me and took me to the Spirit World where he tortured me," she let go of Aang's hand momentarily to pull down her shirt a bit and showed them the scar on her shoulder. Katara gasped as the scar still looked bruised and infected, but that was just the physical consequence of being marked for death by a spirit, "I almost died because Koh stung me, but Aang and his past Avatars saved me and stopped him before he could take my face for his collection."

"Why didn't you call us for help? Why are we finding out about this now?" Sokka asked as Toph covered her shoulder.

"Because it all happened so suddenly, I didn't have time to ask for help and the last thing I wanted was to lose one of you to him. I didn't want you guys to know because…because it hurts even now to think about it," Aang ruffled his hair and looked down to the floor to hide his emotions.

"I can only imagine what you guys went through," Katara whispered as she shook her head, "And I thought being interviewed by the Fire Nation royal court was a nightmare," Katara replied and successfully lightened up the mood.

"I bet Sparkly was scared out of his boots," Toph giggled.

"He was more scared that she was," Sokka said and they all laughed until silence fell between them.

"So what now?" Sokka asked and they knew he was talking about Aang's condition.

"I'm gonna go to the Spirit World and find out what's happening," Aang answered confidently and Toph tightened her hold on his hand.

"We're going," she corrected him and he nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, we're going," he reiterated.

"Can we tag along?" Katara asked and Sokka looked like he was up for it.

"I don't know…" Aang started but Katara got on her knees, "Please!" she begged.

Aang looked over at Sokka and gave in when he saw Sokka pull out the puppy dog eyes routine, "Fine!"

"Sweet! Like the good ol' days!" Toph slammed her hand on the floor beside her and the stone floor shook a bit. They laughed at her excitement and gathered hands because for the first time in a very long time, they were going to do this together.

------

Chun Mei and Lei kept on walking towards Gangwen River. After crossing the tumultuous flow of water, they would be a few miles away from Gaoling and closer to finding the Avatar. Chun Mei kept looking back behind her in a paranoid fashion.

"Why aren't they on us by now?" Chun Mei asked as she walked a bit faster to catch up to Lei's pace.

"It's 'cause they're old," Lei answered humorously and Chun Mei laughed at his ability to make her laugh even though danger was potentially lurking nearby.

Lei smiled at her laughter, but deep down inside he was asking himself the same question. When Qi Tai had his mind set on something he was unstoppable. Chun Mei was right, they should have been right on top of them at this point, but there was no sign of them.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks and held Chun Mei back. He raised a finger to his lips and signaled her to keep quiet. They heard the leaves sway against the wind and then he heard it, "Hear that?" he whispered to her. She perked her head to the side and tried to focus on her surroundings. She shrugged her shoulders and mouthed the word "What?" to him.

He rolled his eyes and whispered back, "And you're supposed to be in tune with nature?" he teased her.

She stuck out her tongue at him and he returned the gesture when he pointed out from his side, "The river," he simply stated and then she heard the bubbling and rushing water.

Chun Mei smiled widely and grabbed his hand. She pulled him through the bushes and braches and finally breached the forest boundary. Chun Mei and Lei stood on the river bank and looked up and down the length, water furiously rushing down past them.

Mei remembered the times she and Lei would come here to play. She also remembered the one day they stopped coming because of one crucial fact: she didn't know how to swim.

------

"Give me your hand Sokka," Toph struggled to get his hand as they sat closer in a circle to one another.

"Your hand is so rough!" he whined and slapped her hand away.

"If you don't give me your hand right now, I'm gonna hurt you where it hurts most and you will definitely be singing soprano," Toph threatened and Sokka obeyed without a second thought. The last thing he wanted was for Toph to hurt his…unmentionables.

Katara and Aang laughed as they finally all held hands. Aang instructed them to meditate and clear their minds from any present thoughts. Aang stopped talking and then there was complete silence. Katara and Sokka felt their heartbeats gradually slow down and felt a prickly feeling travel down their spines. After a few more moments the two siblings suddenly felt a pull towards the center of their stomachs and then a small push back. They opened their eyes and they weren't in Gaoling anymore.

They stood up in awe and took in the surrounding view: green pastures covered with flowers of every hue and the bluest sky they'd ever seen.

"So that's how you guys look like!" Toph spoke out and pulled them out of their reverie.

Katara and Sokka looked at her and realized that her eyes no longer held a misty glaze, but were greener.

"You can see us?" Katara pointed to herself and Sokka. Toph nodded with a wide smile and saw the confusion on both their faces.

"You can't bend in the Spirit World and since Toph relies on her bending to see, the Spirit World has to compensate for the loss…so it gives her the ability to see," Aang clarified. "This is actually where I proposed to her," he blushed as he revealed that fact.

"You really know how to play it smooth, Aang my man!" Sokka slapped the back of his shoulder. The young warrior was then pulled back as Toph pulled on his wolf's tail.

"This is a warrior's wolf tail? It looks very sissy-like to me," Toph commented and he slapped her hand away.

"Don't diss the tail! It's very manly," he said as he tightened the string holding it together. Toph observed the rest of his features like his naturally brown skin, his fierce blue eyes and the dark stubble around his chin.

"Hmm…I can see why Suki likes you in addition to your personality," she said sincerely and Sokka blushed slightly. She remembered how she used to have a crush on him when they were younger.

Aang noticed as they looked at each other intently and although he knew those feelings she had for Sokka were long gone, he still pulled her away, "Okay then!" he said in a high-pitched voice.

"Jealous much?" Katara whispered over to Aang and Toph turned around to look at Katara.

No wonder Aang loved her at first sight, "You're beautiful, Sweetness," Toph said. Katara had all the curves and features of a mature and strong woman and Toph couldn't help but envy her.

"Not as beautiful as you," Katara replied honestly.

Toph nudged her on shoulder, "Yeah, you're right," she joked.

"Okay my two beautiful ladies," Sokka wrapped his arms around Katara's and Toph's shoulders, "What now?" he asked, but Aang was already ahead him.

"Avatar Kyoshi, I've come to seek your guidance," he stated aloud and as requested the said Avatar appeared out of thin air. The earth bending Avatar bowed in respect as did Aang himself. She nodded towards Toph and the others in acknowledgement.

"What may I help you with Avatar Aang?" she asked kindly.

"The day we defeated Koh, you told me that I would face greater challenges as an Avatar," Aang reminded her.

"It is the norm for an Avatar to experience situations well above their comprehension. What troubles you?" she asked.

"I've lost my airbending and I almost died," he started and paused slightly. Toph went up to him and grabbed his hand, "Do you know of any earthly forces that would have the power to do that?" he finished.

"What you speak of is impossible," Avatar Kyoshi said skeptically, "Only one being possesses the power to remove bending and that is you. No one, not even a spirit—" And then it dawned on her.

"What? Avatar Kyoshi, what were you going to say?" Aang persisted. Kyoshi turned from him and continued with her previous thought, "An Acquisitor?"

"A what now?" Sokka asked from the background.

Kyoshi turned back and explained, "An Acquisitor…they only exist in historical texts. But if what you say is true then you have everything to fear, young Avatar."

"What are you talking about?" Toph asked, impatient with Kyoshi's puzzling answers.

"An Acquisitor is a being who is half spirit and half human; they are an abomination to both worlds. An Acquisitor not only has spiritual powers, but they possess the imperfections and emotions of a human. If they fall into the wrong hands, they are a force to be reckoned with. They have powers that supersede the Avatar and one of those abilities includes the ability to acquire bending…the more bending they acquire, the stronger they become…the more power, the more they lose themselves and become the very evil that controls them. If an Acquisitor does indeed exist, they must be dealt with lethal action," she finished on a serious note.

"You mean, kill them?" Katara approached Kyoshi, "But what if they are being manipulated? What if there is another player in all of this? They shouldn't have to die for someone else's actions," Katara reasoned with her.

"Even if there is a third party involved, that does not excuse the fact that the existence of Acquistors defies everything that is natural. They will always be sought after by evil forces because of the threat they pose to the Avatar and everything the Avatar stands for."

Katara was about to argue, but Sokka rested a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry Avatar Aang. Find the Acquisitor and retrieve your airbending, but they must not be kept alive. I understand it defies your teachings as an Air Nomad, but this is a challenge you must overcome as an Avatar to the people. If you fail, everything you've done up until this point would have been for nothing."

Avatar Kyoshi took a step back and bowed again, "I truly am sorry Aang," she said and disappeared.

------

Mei looked down at the rushing water and took a step back, "This was a bad idea," she said out loud.

"It was your idea," Lei laughed and grabbed a large branch to test the depth of the water.

"Yeah, but I forgot that I almost drowned here because I didn't know how to swim," she swallowed hard and knelt down to the floor.

"I remember," he said as he analyzed the depth and figured it was good enough to cross. He then turned back to Chun Mei and saw the fear in her eyes. He walked over to her and crouched down beside her.

"I was scared out of my mind," Lei told her as he pushed back a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "You weren't breathing and I just kept calling out your name to wake up. If I hadn't kept pounding your chest…" he trailed off.

She looked up at him and took a deep breath, "Promise you won't let go," she whispered to him.

"I promise," he assured her and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Why make promises you can't keep?" Qi Tai's voice loomed behind them and Lei pulled Chun Mei up from the ground with him. He pushed her to the back and shielded her from Qi Tai.

"Thought your little earth bending trick got the better of us?" Mao spoke up from their left, while Ruo He approached them from the right.

Lei kept pushing Chun Mei back towards the edge of the bank, "I won't let you get near her," Lei spoke out fiercely.

"Do we have to go through this talk again?" Qi Tai complained as he took a step closer.

"Enough!" Mao exclaimed as he tired of Qi Tai and Lei's run-around conversations, "We'll never get anywhere like this," and with that he sent a ball of fire towards Lei and Chun Mei. Chun Mei jumped back from the heat, but in wanting to escape from the fire she fell into the water.

Lei heard the splash behind him, but Ruo He went to grab him before he could plunge into the water himself. "Mei!" he cried out as Ruo He and Mao held him back.

Qi Tai approached the edge and saw no sign of her, "Let's see how she will get out of this one," he commented.

"She can't swim!" Lei yelled and struggled against their hold.

"If she has water bending she might," Qi Tai said patiently as he looked back down to the river.

Chun Mei struggled to keep afloat as the water crashed down over her. She suddenly felt a strong pull and was dragged down deeper. She was caught in a sink hole. Water kept pushing her down into the dark crevice and there was nothing she could do. She was running out of air quickly and she had no choice as one thought kept creeping back into her mind…she had to acquire the Avatar's water bending.

Since she already had his air bending, it was easier for her to connect to his spiritual being without much effort. She put no more thought to it as her eyes turned completely white.

------

"So that's it! Some Avatar you are!" Sokka yelled out at the air.

"Shut up Sokka," Katara hissed at him as Toph comforted Aang.

"We'll find a way out of this," she whispered to him as she held his face in her hands, "You hear me?"

Aang sighed and nodded, "I hear you," he smiled lightly at her as she pulled him down for a kiss.

The moment their lips touched Aang pulled back and yelled out in pain. Toph widened her eyes as he fell down to his knees and continued to yell out in pain.

"Aang!" they all yelled out and everything around them slowly started to fade away. Soon they were all back on Toph's floor. Toph opened her eyes and had to rely on her hearing to know what was happening. Aang cried out more as he felt another part being sucked out of him.

------

Chun Mei felt the surge of another bending power enter her and then it was over. She maneuvered her hands in a circular motion and pushed herself out of the water.

Lei and the Hang Lo saw a big wave of water rise up from the river bed not far and saw Chun Mei land on the river bank near them. She coughed out water and took deep breaths. Her hands shook at having almost drowned again…but mostly because she had stolen another bending ability from the Avatar.

"What have I done?" she cried out and looked up to see Qi Tai and the others.

"It's your natural instinct to protect yourself," Qi Tai told her as pulled her up from the ground, "Face it Chun Mei, you are naturally evil."

Chun Mei looked up at Qi Tai as tears flowed from her eyes.

"Don't listen to him Mei!" Lei called out to her, but she paid no attention to him, "Mei! MEI!"

"Stop your shouting," Qi Tai turned to him, "She's already half gone. The more power she acquires, the more she loses herself. That's what happens to a spiritual half-breed, isn't that right, dear?"

Chun Mei nodded, "And whom do you serve?" Qi Tai looked at her with a pleased expression.

Chun Mei kneeled back down to the floor, "I serve the Hang Lo and the Fire Nation."

"Good girl," Qi Tai brought her back up and took off his cloak to wrap around her shoulders.

Lei shook his head in disbelief. He broke free from Mao and Ruo He's hold and grabbed her shoulders, "No! Chun Mei listen to me! You are a good person and I love you, this isn't you!"

Mei blinked several times and closed her eyes in pain, "Lei?" her hand went up to touch his face but Qi Tai grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from him.

"Lei is an enemy of the Hang Lo," he told her and Chun Mei repeated his words. She then shook her head in confusion and touched her forehead in pain.

Lei went to grab her shoulder but she earthbended him across the river onto the other side. He gasped for air in pain and looked up at her.

"Run Lei!" she pleaded with him and then Qi Tai stabbed the Yu Yang dart on her neck. The dart knocked her unconscious and Mao grabbed her.

"She still needs more training. We'll perform the brain washing later on to remove any of her memories," Qi Tai said and then looked to his nephew on the other side, but he was gone.

Qi Tai cursed out loud, "It doesn't matter, I have what I want," he said as Mao placed her over his shoulder.

------

Aang woke up in a startled state and a hand pushed him back against the bed, "No sudden movements Aang," Katara said as she placed a damp cloth on his forehead.

He felt his hand enveloped in someone else's and he glanced down to see Toph at his side sitting on a chair, "That's the second time today Aang…I don't know if I can handle another one," she whispered to him.

"Tell me about it," he said and swallowed despite the dryness in his mouth. That was exactly how he felt all over…dry and weak.

He looked over at the pail of water by the nightstand where Sokka was and stretched out his hand toward it. He flicked his wrist out, but the water didn't move. Defeated, he took the cloth from his forehead and tossed it across the room.

"I can't waterbend."

* * *

**Notes**: OH SNAP! So Chun Mei took Aang's waterbending, but don't forget that she only did it because she was drowning and she had already formed a connection with Aang when she stole his airbending. If she had focused on another waterbender it would have taken more time and effort for meditation, something she couldn't exactly do while drowning.

Also don't forget, that she can't easily give back the bending she's stolen. She has to actually physically touch Aang if she wants to return his bending. And like Kyoshi said, the more bending she acquires, the more she loses herself. So that's why she found it hard to remember Lei...she couldn't control it and she obviously didn't know that would happen to her, or else she would have avoided acquiring Aang's waterbending.

So good stuff! lol! I wonder what's up next for these young heroes! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Leave a review!


	8. Chapter 8: Related

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes**: Here's the next chapter! One or two twists and turns thrown in here, so I hope you all enjoy! : ) Don't forget to leave a review!

* * *

**Chapter Eight:** **Related**

After Aang had announced the loss of his water bending, no one knew what to say. It seemed useless to give more words of comfort, especially when hope seemed so far away. Aang felt Toph's hand caress his arm on the edge of the bed and he looked over to see the full moon and stars through the window.

"We should all get some sleep," he whispered as he placed his free arm over his eyes, "We'll handle this tomorrow."

Katara was about to argue against it, but Sokka stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder. He signaled her to go out to their own rooms and wished Aang and Toph a good night. Toph also got up and walked around the bed to the door. Aang looked up as he didn't expect her to leave as well.

He saw her linger by the door frame and heard her call out to a guard, but the conversation was too low for him to pick up on, "Send word to my advanced students and let them now that classes will be cancelled until further notice," she whispered to the guard, who in turn nodded and ran down the hallway.

Toph slid the door closed and walked back to climb over the bed, "I hope you know that I'm staying and there's nothing you can do or say to change that," Toph said as she rested herself next to him.

He smiled and removed his arm from his face. He moved down and laid his head on her stomach, his arm around her legs, "You're the only thing that's keeping me together," he said as her hands went to soothingly brush his hair.

The sensation of her fingers brushing against his scalp managed to rid some of his worries and frustrations away...but the fear of going to sleep knowing that someone wanted him weak and potentially dead still lingered.

"Sing for me?" Aang nudged her on her stomach with his nose. Over the past few years whenever Aang had a rough night of sleep ahead of him he always asked her to sing a song her mother used to sing to her as a child. Last year, when she was trapped in one of Koh's nightmares, her mother sang to her and successfully calmed her down. Aang had recognized the tune and wanted nothing more than to hear it again right now.

Toph continued to brush his hair and did as he asked. She first started to hum and then added the words he looked to for comfort. She repeated the small melody a few more times and felt his breathing settle into a rhythmic pattern. He fell asleep.

The song drifted off and Toph swallowed hard as a pain started to swell up in her throat. The same type of pain someone got when they withheld the urge to cry, but she couldn't hold it in anymore. Toph silently wept at Aang's loss of identity, but mostly because even with all of the promises she made to undo everything that happened today, she had no clue how to fix any of it.

------

Lei ran through the forest. He had no time to rest or even glance back. He hated himself for leaving her behind, but he had no choice. As much as he liked to think he could defeat Qi Tai, Mao, and Ruo He…he was no match for their firebending and the odds were not in his favor.

The image of Chun Mei bowing to Qi Tai and the Hang Lo haunted him, but it also forced him to run and find the Avatar. He also ran because Chun Mei wanted him to…she was still in there somewhere and he was going to get her back.

------

The Hang Lo didn't travel far from the river. Qi Tai took them to a nearby chain of small mountains, a few leagues west of Gangwen and the base of which was surrounded by large flat plains.

"Where are you taking us?" Ruo He squinted through the night, thankful that the moon provided some natural light.

Qi Tai formed a ball of fire in his hand and shot at the base of the mountain, where it landed inside of a cave, "That's where I'm taking us," he replied. "I couldn't exactly stay in the village when I was spying on Lei and Chun Mei now, could I?"

They walked inside of the cave and Mao set an unconscious Chun Mei on the floor, "Get a fire going and get some rest. We'll perform the ritual to erase her mind first thing in the morning," Qi Tai said as he looked back out from the cave, "It's going to get a bit wet out," he said as he saw ominous clouds gather above.

------

Toph woke up at the sound of thunder and then heard the harsh beat of rain against the window. She dropped her head back on to the pillow and her arm stretched to reach for Aang, but he wasn't there. The weight of his head was no longer on her stomach and he was not beside her.

"Aang?" she called out, but only the thunder answered back. She got up, picked up her hair, and walked out of the room into the hallway. She sped up the pace to get through the maze of halls and finally reached the living room. Katara, Sokka, and Aang sat on the floor playing a card game.

"Well this is random," Toph laughed as she approached them.

"You mom, dad, and uncle are making us breakfast. They decided to give the cook and servants the day off because of the weather," Katara said as she smacked the cards on the floor and smiled happily while Sokka cursed his hand for being too slow.

"My mom and dad? Cooking? Okay, the world is really coming to an end," Toph laughed as Aang placed his last card on the floor.

"I suck at this game!" he cried out and Sokka pointed and laughed.

Aang stood up and walked over to Toph where he kissed her on the lips, "I wanted to let you sleep a bit longer," he said as he laced his hands with hers.

"How are you doing?" she asked as she stood on her toes to kiss him at the base of his neck.

"Better," Aang whispered as he turned her around to fix her bed hair. He pulled the band from around her pony tail and properly picked it up for her.

Toph turned back around when he was done, "Are we going to tell my parents about what happened last night?"

"I don't want to keep them in the dark…we'll talk about it after breakfast," he assured her and he was about to kiss her again when Sokka erupted in cheer.

"YES! I win! In your face Katara!" Sokka yelled out and stood up to rub it in her face.

"You cheated!" Katara countered, "I had my hand on the pile first!"

As they continued to bicker, Uncle Qin and Toph's parents came out of the dining room. The bickering stopped when they saw both Uncle Qin and Lao covered in flour.

"Wait, am I missing something?" Toph asked as everyone looked over at Qin and Lao.

"Your father and uncle had a little accident in the kitchen, they're completely covered in flour," Poppy informed them.

"He started it," Lao dusted off his arm.

"I said I was going to do it because you are incapable of doing anything that requires brain power!" Uncle Qin sneezed.

"Honestly, you two have to grow up!" Poppy said strictly and then turned to the others with a big smile, "Breakfast is ready!"

Aang and the others tried to hold their laughter when a loud knock on the door interrupted the mood.

"I'll get it," Aang said as everyone followed him and he chuckled at how curious everyone was to know who it was at the door.

The door knocked again and Aang finally reached it. He opened it and before he could fully register who it was, Katara had zipped past him and threw herself on top of the visitor, "Zuko!" she called out.

"What are you doing here so early?" she said as he put her down and pulled him inside. He bowed towards Toph's parents and introduced himself to Uncle Qin.

"Fire Lord Zuko, it has bee a long time since I've shared a conversation with your uncle, Iroh. I trust he is doing well," Uncle Qin said as he shook hands with Zuko.

"You know Iroh?" Toph asked and laughed at how small the world could be sometimes.

"From long ago," he answered, "But he still owes me a game of Pai-sho."

"My uncle is doing well, thank you," Zuko laughed and turned to his friends as he answered Katara's previous question, "I let everyone go early from the board meeting yesterday for the celebrations and I took the next air ship out of the Fire Nation to get here. I thought I wasn't going to make it what with the thunderstorm and everything." They guided him towards the dining room and Katara waterbended the water off of him.

"Aww Sparky, I didn't know you cared so much!" Toph ruffled his hair as they took their seats at the table.

"Congratulations to you and Aang again," Zuko fixed his hair and then curiously asked, "How did the festivities go here? I was walking through the town and I heard Aang got ill?"

Everyone quieted down and the only thing that echoed was the clanging of utensils and Sokka's chomping.

"It was nice yesterday," Aang started, "Up until the point I lost my airbending and almost died," he said and his tone reminded Zuko of Toph's sarcasm. _She was rubbing off on him too much_, he quickly thought before the situation actually hit him, "You lost your bending? How is that possible? Is it just your airbending?" he asked one question after the other.

"His waterbending too," Katara said as she covered Zuko's hand on the table.

"Firebending?" he asked since it was his element.

"Not yet," Aang said bitterly, but still continued to eat.

"Who's doing this?' Zuko asked what had been in Uncle Qin and Toph's parents' minds. Sokka and Katara knew since they had tagged along in Aang's spirit journey.

"Apparently it's someone who is half human and half spirit…don't ask me how that happens," he replied as he saw that Zuko was about to ask how that would happen.

Uncle Qin and Lao paid close attention when Aang described the individual behind the attacks. They looked at each other, but continued to listen to what Aang had to say.

"I asked Avatar Kyoshi yesterday and she said it's someone known as the Acquisitor, an abomination to both worlds. They have the ability to steal anyone's bending or in this case mine and the only way to stop them would be to kill them."

"Yeah that's my job because when I get my hands on them I'm going to pummel them into the ground," Toph added and Aang nudged her slightly on the shoulder.

"What? It's true!" she said.

"I don't think you can do that, Toph," Uncle Qin put down his utensils and wiped away any traces of food from his mouth.

"What? Of course I can, a little Toph awesomeness here and a little earthbending action there," she clarified, but Lao joined in to correct her.

"I have faith in your ability Toph, but you can not do harm to the Acquisitor," Lao seemed nervous when he spoke.

"Why not?" Sokka said as he grabbed another piece of bread.

"Because the person you speak of…is our niece," Qin rubbed his temples, "Of course, we didn't know she had that ability until you described it, Aang—"

"Your niece?" Katara interrupted, "But if she's your niece then that means—"

"She's my cousin?" Toph asked. Bewildered by the thought she stood up from the chair, "You mean to tell me that this person, this thing…is related to me? And not only that but she's harming Aang and you guys kept it a secret from me?" Toph slammed her fist on the table.

"Control your tone with me, young lady!" Lao spoke out just as fiercely as he stood up as well. Aang tugged on her shirt and motioned for her to sit back down. She slammed herself back on to the seat and crossed her arms as Lao and Qin explained themselves.

Poppy took Lao's hand and sat him back down. He took a deep breath before he spoke, "Your father and I had a sister, Hui Lan, who very much resembled your attitude and persona. Your Grandfather Lao found her behavior unacceptable and one day, a few years before you were born, he forced her out of the Bei Fong family."

"We lost touch with her," Uncle Qin took part in re-telling the story, "One day I managed to find her…pregnant and she only had a few days before she gave birth. She told me that she had fallen in love with the spirit of the earth, who always took shape as a man when he left the Spirit World to inhabit the mortal world. It was forbidden for a spirit to mate with a human and when the other spirits found out, they restricted him to ever leave the Spirit World. She could never lay eyes on him again."

"That's terrible!" Katara commented.

"Father thought she was a disgrace and forbade her from coming back. So Lao and I sent one of our most loyal and trusted servants, Goro, to look after her," Qin continued.

"Does she know that she's from the Bei Fong family? About her heritage?" Aang asked.

"She knows about her mother and her father's relationship and that she's a half-spirit, but that's the extent of her knowledge," Lao answered him and before Aang could ask why Qin continued.

"We had to keep her hidden for her own protection. I had access to a whole extension of libraries and by chance I found information on Acquisitors and their rareness in this world. Like you said Aang, she's an abomination because of her abilities…abilities we didn't even know she had until yesterday when she took your airbending and waterbending."

Zuko, Katara, and Sokka looked at Toph as they expected her to make another outburst, but she spoke calmly when she did, "So I have a cousin, who knows nothing about us and is zapping Aang of everything he is?"

"She's not what you think," Uncle Qin spoke in Chun Mei's defense, "I've visited the shrine she grew up in and have watched her from afar. She's kindhearted, faithful…the sweetest person you could possibly meet."

"I don't like her already," Toph harshly commented, "If she's so sweet, then why is she doing this?"

"I don't know, but I know for sure that this is not of her own will," Uncle Qin said and Toph laughed skeptically in response.

A knock on the dining room door brought them back to reality, "Come in," Poppy called out and the door slid open.

"Madam, we found this man inside of the manor walls looking for the Avatar," a guard announced while another guard withdrew the stone cuffs from the young man's hands. The man was drenched and covered in leaves and mud. His hair was tossed about and he looked at everyone in the room.

"Lei?" Zuko said as he stood up from the table. He saw Zuko and immediately dropped to the floor, "Fire Lord Zuko."

"Guards arrest him!" he called out and the guard wrapped the stone cuffs around his wrists again.

"Zuko!" Katara pulled on his arm, "What are you doing?"

"He's a traitor to the Fire Nation. He's part of the Hang Lo Order and they're the ones who started the war in the first place," Zuko informed everybody.

"I don't follow them anymore," Lei answered back, "I've changed Zuko…you have to believe me! The Hang Lo have found a way to take the Avatar's bending. They're using someone I know and I really care about to get to him. Please, you have to believe me," he pleaded.

"He's telling the truth," Toph said as she approached Lei. She broke the stone bonds with her earthbending and thanked the guards for their work.

"Okay, now this is just weird!" Sokka spoke, "First we find out that this Chun Mei person is your cousin and now some random guy, who apparently knows Zuko, just comes out of nowhere with even more information! Talk about one heck of a morning, huh?" Katara rolled her eyes when Lei spoke again.

"Chun Mei is your cousin?" he asked in disbelief as he turned to Toph, "I didn't know she had more family."

"That remains to be seen," Toph replied and her father and uncle picked up on the underlying tone in her voice.

Katara approached him and waterbended the water off him. Aang pulled out a chair for him, "Tell us what you know."

------

"Lei!" Chun Mei yelled out when she woke up in the dark cave. She looked down to see that her hands and feet were bound.

"No, I'm Qi Tai and it's about time you wake up," Qi Tai said as he kneeled down beside her.

She saw Mao and Ruo He stand by her feet, "Where am I?"

"You are in safe hands Chun Mei, no need to worry," he said kindly as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

She spat at him and looked away. Qi Tai wiped the spit off his face and forcefully grabbed her chin to make her look at him, "Lei's dead, so there's no point in fighting anymore."

Chun Mei swallowed hard and her eyes glazed over, "You're lying," she choked out.

"Am I?" Qi Tai said seriously and then laughed, "I wish I was telling the truth. But he'll eventually die by my hands or yours."

"I will never hurt him," Chun Mei struggled out of her bonds.

"So say you now," Qi Tai smiled at her and let go of her chin. "Mao, hold her head."

Mao came around and knelt down behind her to place on hand under her chin and another on her forehead.

"What are you doing?" Chun Mei asked slightly scared at what was about to happen.

"I'm making it less painful for you," Qi Tai said he formed a ball of fire in hand. He sat down on one side of her legs while Ruo He sat across from him. He passed the fireball to Ruo He in a circular pattern and then Ruo He repeated the action.

"Just focus on the light," Qi Tai said, "And it'll all be better."

------

"Qi Tai is supposed to be dead," Zuko shook his head at what Lei was saying.

"The man is resourceful," Lei answered and he rubbed his head, "He found out that Chun Mei is this half-spirit/half-human and is using it against her. She was drowning when she took the Avatar's waterbending. When she came out of the river she hardly recognized me."

"Avatar Kyoshi did say that the Acquisitor would lose a sense of who they are with the more bending they take and they would become the very evil that controls them," Katara clarified.

"So there we go!" Sokka chimed in, "Chun Mei is not bad, she's just being used as a pawn to get to Aang. We don't need to kill her."

"Kill her?" Lei repeated, his mouth dry.

"Kyoshi said that she can't continue to live because of her ability to harm others and she's also a danger to herself," Aang informed him.

"You can't kill her!" Lei's ears burned with the thought.

"And why not?" Toph challenged him. Aang looked at her as she fiddled around with a knife.

"Because she's your cousin and I lo—" he started to say, but bit his tongue, "She's my best friend."

"How do you know Zuko?" Sokka asked to avoid any argument that might arise between Toph and Lei.

"We grew up together and trained with firebending masters," Zuko answered for him. Zuko smiled momentarily and laughed, "Remember that one time when we set that firecracker in Master Yung's pants?"

Lei closed his eyes as he tried to remember and then he too laughed, "Yeah, it was your idea and you lit the fuse, but I took the blame so you wouldn't have to deal with your father. I was scolded for weeks!"

"Truce," Zuko said as he stood up held out his hand to him. Lei also stood and shook his hand, "Truce."

"As adorable as this lovey-dovey session is, what are we going to do now?" Sokka said as he draped one arm over Zuko and the other over Lei.

"You need to channel your thoughts with Chun Mei, Aang," Uncle Qin spoke out and before Toph could argue he offered her the reason why, "It's the only way we can track down where she is. Once we find her, we know the Hang Lo are right there with her."

------

As much as she struggled against him, Mao held her eyes open as the fireball passed between Qi Tai and Ruo He in a rhythmic motion. She found that her eyes followed the source of light back and forth. The sound of the rain served to sooth her nerves and she slowly gave in to the mesmerizing motion of the light.

"On the count of three, Chun Mei, I want you repeat what I say," Qi Tai said as he continued to pass the ball of fire.

"One…two…three…I will serve the Hang Lo," Qi Tai turned to see her gaze at the light.

She didn't repeat what he said and he thought the procedure was unsuccessful until the words came out of her mouth, "I will serve the Hang Lo."

"I will serve the Fire Nation," he said and she repeated obediently.

He signaled Ruo He to stop the fire and Chun Mei fell back against Mao, "Gentlemen, say hello to our new honorary member."

------

"No, out of the question, Aang is not going to do this. Who knows what will happen if he gets into her head!" Toph argued as everyone started to relocate to the living room.

"Who knows what will happen if he doesn't," Uncle Qin reasoned with her, "It's useless to just sit around and wait for evil to come to him."

Aang held her back while everyone else left the dining room, "He's right, you know."

"Oh, so now you're taking his side!" Toph moved to leave the dining room, but he held her back.

"Don't do this, not now. You know I need this," he whispered to her as he placed a hand on her cheek.

"Just promise me that when this is all over we're going to have a safe and normal wedding," she whispered back as she held on to his shirt.

He chuckled and kissed her full on the lips, "I promise."

* * *

**Notes**: Oh man! Everyone is related to everyone! Lol! Toph and Chun Mei are cousins! Oh snap! I bet none of you saw that coming! Let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9: Optimistic

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes**: How is everyone?? I hope you're all doing well! Here's your next chapter! I was really shocked at how short this chapter came out compared to the others, but it's still really good! I hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to leave a review!

* * *

**Chapter Nine:** **Optimistic**

Toph leaned forward and rested her forehead against Aang's chest. He always kept his promises, so why did she feel that this one was empty. She pulled him away from the doorway of the dining room and away from the view of the others.

"Why do I feel like things are going to get worse?" she admitted as she pushed forward slightly with her forehead.

"Because they probably are," Aang laughed and then received a punch on the shoulder for the comment.

"That's supposed to comfort me?" Toph pushed and stepped back from him, a bit annoyed.

"What do you want me to do?" Aang sounded just as annoyed as she did, "Just sit around and do nothing? You're the one who told me to not mope around so I'm doing something about it."

"Yeah Aang, but that doesn't mean that you should go into the opponent's mind without knowing what the consequences would be. She can do something to you that's worse than taking your bending," Toph tried to reason with him, her voice stern.

"Then that's a risk I'm willing to take," Aang tried to grab her hands but she slapped them away.

"It's not a risk I'm willing to take!" she spoke back angrily. She didn't know if her anger came from her uncle and father keeping this secret from her or if it came from this Hang Lo Order and their tunnel vision of taking over the world…or if all her anger came from her not being able to do anything to save Aang when he most needed her.

The room next to them had quieted down at hearing her outburst and he looked at her as her eyes were directed toward the ground and her hands were clenched in fists.

They had gotten into arguments plenty of times before, but Aang didn't see a recovery or change of mood on the horizon. They always found a way to compromise, but the option was not there and neither was about to give in.

"Then you're just going to have to deal with it because I'm doing this with or without your permission," he said his heart pounding a mile a minute. He started to walk out and hesitated at the doorway for a few moments before he officially walked out of the dining room.

There was only one other time in their long relationship together where he actually stood up to her and that was when he was fed up with her earthbending teaching techniques all those years ago.

If Toph was a firebender, steam would have escaped her nostrils as her chest heaved in and out in frustration. Tears threatened to come out but she ignored them by punching the wall and she marked her fist into it.

"Toph?" Katara hesitantly called out from the doorway, "Are you coming?"

"I'll be outside if things go terribly wrong," Toph simply answered and walked past her into the living room and then out into the hallway and out of sight. She felt Aang's eyes follow her out of the room and she made no effort to acknowledge him.

Everyone turned back to look at Aang questioningly, "Shouldn't you go after her?" Sokka asked.

"I think I'm the last person she wants to see right now," Aang said as he sat down cross-legged in the center of the room.

"Don't say that Aang," Poppy placed a hand on his shoulder as Uncle Qin came up to him. Aang smiled at her motherly affection towards him and looked to Uncle Qin.

"My niece has my temper, just let her cool down on her own and she'll be alright," he said and sat in front of Aang.

"Are you ready to do this Aang? Connecting to another spiritually-in-tune being is not an easy task, but I'll help you get there," Uncle Qin offered and Aang nodded in thanks.

"I'm ready," he said and swallowed heavily. He'd actually feel much better with Toph at his side, but he had to do without.

------

Toph walked out into the courtyard and made a bee-line over to the stable, where Appa and Momo happily occupied the space. She managed to find the latch on the wooden door and heaved the door open.

She walked in and Appa grunted at the sound of someone coming nearby. He tackled Toph to the ground and licked her as his way of saying hello. Momo followed suit and landed on her shoulder to lick the side of her forehead.

"Hey guys! It's nice to see you too," she laughed lightly as her anger towards her other half momentarily left her mind.

Appa grunted again and Toph guessed he was asking for Aang, "Twinkle Toes is performing another magic trick, big guy," she sighed and rubbed her temples.

She then picked up on the subtle vibrations of someone approaching the stable. They were footsteps she wasn't all too familiar with…it was Lei.

"What are you doing here?" she asked aloud and let her arms fall to her sides.

"I came to see if you were alright," he said and she knew he was telling the truth.

"Why do you care?" she asked bitterly as she scratched the side of Appa's head.

"Because in some way I feel guilty for what's happening to the Avatar," he kicked the dirt and crossed his arms.

"You're not the one who's doing this to Aang," she replied and turned to him.

"No, but if it weren't for me, none of this would have happened," he admitted.

"You love her don't you? Earlier when we said she had to die, your heartbeat picked up at the thought of it. I felt it," she revealed her observation.

He nodded his head and explained, "Qi Tai is my uncle—"

"Is everyone related to everyone else?" Toph questioned humorously and Lei picked up on the fact that she found out that she was related to Chun Mei recently. She then motioned for him to go on.

------

"Okay Aang, I need you to take a deep breath and clear your mind of everything that is troubling you," Uncle Qin spoke to him and Aang did as instructed, albeit the thoughts of him and Toph arguing were harder to put aside.

"Now I want you to think about the spiritual energy that is inside you and every living being in this world. Let it embrace every corner of your body…"

------

"Qi Tai held a dagger to my throat and forced Chun Mei to take the Avatar's airbending. If I had struggled against him, she would have avoided taking his bending," he explained as he relieved the thought in his head.

"If you would have struggled, he could have slit your throat. It's not your fault…and as much as I hate to admit it…it's not your girlfriend's fault either," she said and lightly shoved Lei's shoulder as a friendly gesture.

"She's not my girlfriend," Lei blushed.

"Yeah right, and Aang and I aren't soul mates," Toph laughed.

"You look a lot like her," Lei said without thinking, "Black hair and ivory skin, only she's a bit taller, but she's also an earthbender."

"Yeah well, I bet I can kick her butt any day with my bending," Toph puffed out her chest full of pride.

------

"Do you feel your heart rate decreasing and an overwhelming warm glow settle in your chest?"

"Yes," Aang whispered as his head began to drift down towards the ground as if he fell asleep.

"Follow that warm glow and it will hopefully take you to the Acquisitor and your bending. Are you following the traces to your bending?"

"Mhmm," Aang muttered as he went deeper into this meditative state.

------

"I've heard stories of the Avatar and his partner. How you two are inseparable…why aren't you in there with him?" Lei asked as Momo flew over to him and sniffed him. Satisfied, Momo rested on his shoulder and Lei patted him.

She forgot she was in the stable for a reason, "Because he's trying to get into your girlfriend's head. It's like walking into the belly of the beast and hoping you come out alive," she explained.

"What makes you so sure that something bad will happen?" Lei asked curiously.

"What makes you think otherwise" she replied matter-of-factly and continued, "You've heard stories of us, right? All of those stories had one thing in common…we had to fight the bad guys because everything notoriously bad is attracted to us. I've just become so used to having bad things happen that I don't bother looking at the optimistic side of things anymore."

"That's a sad way of looking at life," Lei stated honestly.

"Yeah well that's life," Toph shrugged her shoulders.

"Let me ask you something…so you don't consider your upcoming wedding an optimistic point in life?" Lei pointed out.

------

"Are you there Aang?" Uncle Qin asked as he guided him through.

"I see her," Aang spoke quietly, his head hung low against his chest.

"Where is she? Where is your bending?" Uncle Qin urged on.

"She's close…in a cave…a river nearby…near Gaoling," Aang whispered and Uncle Qin looked to the others to reassure them that everything was alright.

------

Chun Mei woke up, her eyes white as if triggered to defend. Ruo He noticed her wake up and called to Qi Tai who was having a firebending session with Mao.

"She's awake!" he called out and Qi Tai and Mao ran up to see her condition.

"Why are her eyes white?" Ruo He asked as she just sat there on the cave floor.

"I don't know," Qi Tai started to approach her, "She's supposed to look normal after our mind-clearing procedure…maybe it's a side-effect."

He went to touch her shoulder and her head fiercely turned to him, "The Avatar knows we're here," she informed him.

"Then do something about it," Qi Tai commanded her and she took his order to the letter.

------

"Marrying Aang is a very optimistic point to all of this," she said dreamily and Lei smiled at her expression.

"So life isn't so bad after all," Lei turned the tables on her.

She shook her head and snapped out of her reverie, "Yeah well, I can't exactly marry Aang if he's dead, can I?" she continued to fight him.

"You really are a pessimist," Lei chuckled and started to walk out of the stable, but not before Toph brought him back into the conversation.

"What if Chun Mei died?" she struck a chord in him, "You're in the same situation I am. You can't escape what's happening and you can't do anything about it because it's out of your control. How can you look at the good when everything around you just wants to destroy it?" she called out to him.

------

"Alright Aang, I need you to follow the path back to us. Come back home so that we can come up with a plan of attack," Uncle Qin guided him.

Aang nodded slightly and Uncle Qin looked up to see two thumbs up from Sokka and relieved expressions on everyone else.

Then an eerie feeling crept down Uncle Qin's spine as he heard Aang laugh.

He looked at the young Avatar only to see his head lift up, his eyes glowing white. Uncle Qin got up immediately as Aang continued to laugh.

"Did you really think that you could infiltrate the Acquisitor's mind and get away with it?" Aang spoke up with two separate voices combined into one.

"Leave the Avatar alone," Uncle Qin spoke forcefully.

"Or what? As if you will hurt the only thing that holds this pathetic world together?" Aang continued to speak as he stood up from the floor.

Sokka moved to the doorway to warn Toph, but Aang stopped him by earthbending the floor around his legs. Lao attempted to reason with him, but was earthbended to the wall along with Poppy.

Zuko eyed Katara and silently communicated with one another. Katara opened up her mole skin pouch and distracted Aang with a waterbending whip, while Zuko narrowly escaped another earthbending move to trap his feet. He ran down the hall while yelling out for Toph.

------

"After serving the Fire Nation and Ozai for the majority of my life, I can tell you this…good always triumphs over evil. I didn't really understand that until I met Chun Mei…and I know I'm going to get her back alive."

Toph took his words into consideration and thought back to the many situations where she and the others did triumph over their obstacles. Maybe they were going to get through this after all…she was just exaggerating things, like she tended to do when it concerned Aang's wellbeing.

"You're a good guy, Lei," Toph put out her hand for him to shake.

He took it and laughed, "I try."

Toph then heard someone running and heard her name being called. She walked out with Lei behind her, "Zuko? What's up?"

"It's Aang…that Acquisitor possessed him, he's—" But Zuko didn't have a chance to finish his explanation as Toph bolted inside without a word.

Within a matter of moments, Toph, Lei and Zuko appeared back in the living room area where everyone had been immobilized by large earthen structures. Toph felt Aang at the center of the room and everything about him felt different.

"So I have a cousin?" Chun Mei spoke out through Aang, "You don't seem so strong to me."

"Oh, you'll get a piece of me before this is all done," Toph spoke back as she tried to put aside the fact that the person in front of her was Aang.

"And Lei, traitor to the Fire Nation, you should have stayed under the care of the Hang Lo when you had a chance."

"Don't do this Mei, let the Avatar go," Lei urged as he approached Aang.

"I am no longer that person; she was pathetic and weak…just like you." The words stung him, especially coming from her, but he held his guard.

"Get out of my husband, now," Toph said through clenched teeth as she walked closer. The vibrations washed over her as a wave when she felt Aang earthbend a spike towards her. Toph grabbed one end of the spike and smashed it against the wall.

Aang detached a piece of stone from the wall and launched it Toph, but with one simple wrist movement she blocked it by lifting the ground in her defense.

"You're gonna have to do better than that," Toph warned her.

"Oh, I can and you'll know where to find me if you want more," Toph heard her say before Aang cringed forward in pain. He fell to the floor and Toph went to him as he screamed in agony.

Toph panicked as she did the last two times this happened. Chun Mei was acquiring another bending ability from him. The tears finally broke through as Aang stopped screaming and laid unconscious on the floor.

She hated herself for not being there with him, but mostly because she left things on an angry and unresolved note with him. Her hands went to caress his face and lightly kissed him on the lips.

"Are you still feeling optimistic Lei?!" she yelled at him as she held the motionless Aang in her arms.

* * *

**Notes**: Oh man! That's crazy! I definitely enjoyed writing the conversation between Lei and Toph. I can't wait to post up the next chapter for you guys! Stay tuned for more! Again, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I'll make up for it in the next one! Don't forget to leave a review!


	10. Chapter 10: Connection

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes**: THIS IS IT GUYS! Grab your popcorn and Kleenex box! THIS IS IT!! After this there is definitely one more chapter (maybe two?), so I hope you enjoy this! And definitely leave me a review!!!

* * *

**Chapter Ten:** **Connection**

Aang opened his eyes to the sound of muffled voices. He stretched his eyes open to see the blurry view of the ceiling in the living room. He heard someone earthbending and turned to see Uncle Qin earthbend his brother out of a rock enclosure. His eyes drifted further down the room to see Katara healing some scratches on Poppy's arm. Mouth dry, he tried to call out to someone as he lifted himself up from the couch.

"Toph?" he said in a scratchy voice. No one heard him as he threw his legs over and sat down. He got up but his knees buckled under his weight and fell to the floor, "Toph!" he called out again.

Someone grabbed onto his arm and pulled him back up, "You have to rest Aang," he heard Sokka's voice.

"Where's Toph?" he asked as he looked to see the broken floor and walls, "What happened?"

"Zuko is trying to stop Toph," he answered and then winced at having answered truthfully.

"Stop her? What? Where is she?" he asked more clearly and the dizziness started to dissipate.

Sokka figured it was useless to keep it a secret, "She's trying to take Appa to find the Hang Lo."

Aang shook his head and shoved Sokka out of the way. As he sprinted out of the room he slammed into the doorway and used the wall to support himself. Sokka followed him and attempted to reason with him, but Aang ignored him. He finally reached the courtyard doors and pushed himself through just in time for Sokka to catch him before he fell.

He saw Zuko holding Appa's reins and then saw as Toph approached him and grabbed him by his shirt, "Give me the reins or I'll bury you where you stand," she said through clenched teeth.

"This isn't you Toph…you have to calm down," Zuko looked down at her as she fiercely held onto his shirt.

Toph slammed him against the outer wall of the stable, "I'm tired of people telling me to calm down! I'm going to do this my way!" she yelled at him.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and Toph finally registered that there were two more people, "Let Zuko go," she heard Aang's rough voice.

"No, that was the last straw Aang; I can't let her do this to you again," she shook her head and tightened her hold on Zuko.

He went around her arms and let his hands drift toward her wrists. Exhausted, he rested his forehead against the back of her head, "Do I need to remind you about what happened when I went ahead and faced Koh on my own last year?" He forcefully pulled her hands away from Zuko and turned her around, "Do I Toph?" he put his hand under her chin and made her face him even though her eyes wouldn't really focus on him.

He saw her eyes water over and she closed them as her chest heaved in and out rapidly in an attempt to hold back her tears, "No," she whispered. She remembered all to well what happened last year. When Aang went to confront Koh on his own, he left Toph vulnerable to his attack and regretted it ever since.

He pulled her into a hug and gently kissed her neck, "We're doing this together."

Toph wrapped her arms around him and held onto the back of Aang's shirt as she nodded, "I'm sorry," she whispered against his chest.

"You shouldn't be apologizing to me," Aang pulled back and gently turned Toph around to Zuko's direction.

Zuko eyed her, but broke out into a smile, "Don't worry about it Toph. The Blind Bandit can't ruin her reputation by apologizing," he laughed and pulled her in a quick hug, "Just don't scare me like that. You know we're here to back you and Aang up," he said as he gave her the reins she so desperately wanted.

She smiled and quickly wiped any trace of tears away, "Thanks Sparky."

Sokka popped out from behind them and draped his arms over Zuko, Toph and Aang, "So, what's the plan?"

------

"Did you do it? Did you take his firebending?" Mao asked as Chun Mei regained consciousness. Qi Tai helped her up from the cave floor and walked her out to breathe some fresh air.

"Do not busy her with your questions," Qi Tai said as he gently brushed her hair.

"Is she your new pet now?" Ruo He laughed and then ducked as a flash of fire went over him. He pulled out his sword at Chun Mei, who had her hand stretched out before her.

"I am nobody's pet. I only serve the Fire Nation," she said as she detached herself from Qi Tai.

"Well said," Qi Tai clapped at her changed demeanor. He turned to Ruo He, "Put that thing away. You're better off using your firebending."

"I enjoy the art of the sword. You can't blame me for having a hobby," Ruo He sheathed his sword.

"How long do you think before the Avatar will be here?" Mao eyed Chun Mei before he turned his attention to Qi Tai.

"An hour at most, he'll be weak and easy prey," Qi Tai answered confidently.

"It won't be just the Avatar," Chun Mei turned to them as she dusted away the dirt from her clothes.

Qi Tai's eyebrow scrunched up in confusion, "What do you mean? The Avatar is our only target."

"You obviously didn't anticipate that the Avatar would be aided by his friends…the Water Tribe siblings, Fire Lord Zuko, and his beloved earthbender…not to mention your nephew," she said nonchalantly.

"That's six in total…two more than what we can handle," Ruo He grabbed Qi Tai's arm to emphasize the problem.

"Yes, thank you for doing the math for me," Qi Tai rolled his eyes at him.

He took a deep breath and lit his hand with firebending, "Then it is a number we must diminish."

------

"Okay, here's the plan," Sokka started as he pulled out his drawing of the four nations, "We are here."

"Sokka, if I may interrupt, that does not look like the Earth Kingdom," Uncle Qin pointed kindly to the map. Lei shook his head in agreement, while Poppy and Lao slightly nodded their heads as well.

There was a huge giant blob that represented the Earth Kingdom, small dots to represent the Fire Nation, four circles for the Air Temples, and two jagged boxes for the north and south poles.

"Yeah come to think of it, the Air Temples are located in the cardinal directions Sokka, not where you drew them," Aang scratched the back of his head as he analyzed the map on the table.

"Dots for the Fire Nation, really?" Zuko raised his eyebrow at him.

"If it's any consolation Sokka, I think it's an accurate representation of the world," Toph patted him on the back and Sokka smiled.

"Thanks Toph, I really appreciate that," he said and then it hit him. Toph was mocking him again, especially since she couldn't see, "Why do you have to do that every time?" Toph and the other laughed.

"Alright, putting aside Sokka's bad artistic abilities, we know from Aang's description that their location is near Gaoling," Katara clarified and directed her description toward the Earth Kingdom residents, since she had no clue where to start, "He said that there was a river and a cave. Now, the cave has to be in a mountain of some kind. Are any of you familiar with that type of layout?"

"Poppy and I have never been acquainted with the extensive Earth Kingdom villages and towns," Lao explained.

"I'm afraid I can't offer any help either," Uncle Qin spoke next, "I've only occupied the eastern half of the Earth Kingdom and nothing of that description fits that area."

Everyone turned to Lei expectantly and he nodded, "I know where they are. That river the Avatar spoke of, it's Gangwen's river. It's a major artery of the Earth Kingdom and there's a small mountain range a few miles west of Gangwen. I bet anything they'll be there. The area is known for its large open fields. If they're looking for a fight, that's the perfect terrain."

Aang turned to Lei and placed a hand on his shoulder. He knew that Lei cared for Chun Mei and giving up her position was hard for him, "Thank you." Lei smiled slightly and nodded a welcome.

"Alright then, we have a location. Who's going?" Sokka wiggled his eyebrows, "I know you definitely need my awesome sword-fighting skills. So I'm going."

"And you need a handy waterbender to sizzle out those flames," Katara offered happily.

Zuko walked over and put an arm around Lei, an act he used to do when they were younger together, "We can always fight fire with fire," he said and Lei chuckled, happy to be included in the group.

"I'm afraid I will be useless in this situation," Poppy spoke gently and felt a bit of shame for having nothing to offer, "But your father can wield a sword." Lao nodded in agreement.

Aang walked up to Poppy and Lao and place a hand on both of their shoulders, "The last I want is to lose my mother and father," he said thoughtfully, "I'll feel more comfortable with you being safe here."

Poppy and Lao hugged Aang in unison and Sokka came up to hug them all from behind, "Thanks mom and dad," he said sincerely. He always considered Aang as a brother, so via Toph, he felt like he had a new set of parents as well.

"I always think of you as a son too, Sokka," Lao chuckled as he pulled back to look at him.

"When we come back triumphant, can you make sure you have those awesome moon cakes ready for us to feast on?" Sokka winked at Poppy.

"Of course, Sokka," Poppy squeezed his cheek and the two turned to see their actual daughter in front of them.

"If the 'me' from five years ago was to see this, I don't think she would have believed it," she said as she referred to their understanding and kind nature. She grew thinking her parents wanted nothing more than to torture her in a gilded cage, but they were definitely showing their true colors right now.

She gave her mother a hug and thanks and then turned to her father. Up until a few hours ago she was angry with her father and uncle for keeping a secret from her, "I'm sorry dad," she said and gave him a tight hug.

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have kept you in the dark about your aunt and cousin," Lao explained and Uncle Qin came into view.

"We truly are sorry Toph," Uncle Qin spoke up and Toph turned to look at her uncle.

"I can never stay mad at you," Toph laughed as she too gave him a hug.

"Alright, alright…too many hugs and little action," Sokka piped up, "Are we gonna go kick Fire Nation butt? No offense," he looked to the only two Fire Nation members in the room.

"None taken," Zuko and Lei said simultaneously.

Moments later, everyone found themselves in the courtyard by the stable. Appa grunted happily as Sokka and Katara straddled the bison. Zuko and Lei joined them while Aang took hold of the front seat on Appa's head.

"I expect everyone to come back in one piece," Lao urged while Toph bended herself by Aang.

"Yes dad!" she laughed, but deep down inside she wished for the same thing too. Momo landed on her shoulder and comforted her for the moment.

"I'll be your adult supervision," Uncle Qin joked as he bended himself onto Appa's saddle to join the others.

"I'm an adult," Sokka pointed to himself proudly.

"Don't kid yourself," Toph shouted from the front seat and Sokka stuck his tongue out at her.

"What I meant to say is that I'll be an extra pair of hands," Uncle Qin laughed.

Aang grabbed Toph's hand and squeezed it, "Ready to go?"

She pulled his arm into her embrace, "Whenever you're ready."

Aang nodded and shook the reins, "Appa, yip yip!" And with that they took to the skies.

------

On foot, Gaoling to the outer edge of Gangwen would have taken about a day and a bit more with a large group of people. But on the back of Appa, it only took an hour. Appa touched down on the bank of the river and their presence was hidden by a line of trees and brush.

Everyone dismounted and everyone but Toph and Aang approached the edge of the brush to observe the area.

Aang scratched the back of Appa's ear and thanked his old friend for bringing him and the others there. Momo flew and landed on Appa's head and Aang thanked him too for the company.

"You only have your earthbending," he heard Toph behind him. He was thinking about that on the way there…the fact that he only had one element to defend himself with.

"It's a good thing that it's your favorite one, right?" he tried to make her smile and she did. That made him more comfortable as she approached him.

"Try not to trip out there," she laced her hand with his.

He brought her closer by the waist, "I'll have you to catch me if I do," he traced her face with his other hand. His finger made a trail along her eyebrow down her cheek and jaw and further down to her betrothal necklace. He saw Katara approach from the corner of his eye and he slightly turned to shake his head. Katara nodded and walked back out of view.

"Did you tell them we found them?" Zuko asked Katara when she came back.

"Give them a few more minutes," she said as she took her place next to him.

"Promise me that nothing will happen to Chun Mei," Aang brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Are you seriously thinking about her right now?" she said as she leaned into his hand.

"She's your cousin Toph and I have an inkling that Lei cares for her more than he's letting on. Plus, your uncle told me something 'Only in defense, not in offense'," he said. It used to be a classic phrase of her uncle's while he used to teach her about the dangers of earthbending. He taught her the difference between killing by defending and killing by malcontent.

"Fine," Toph sighed, "But whoever's behind this is going to pay big time." Aang laughed at her determination and he was thankful that her humor calmed his anxiety.

"We should get going," Aang said as he started to move, but Toph held him back. Without anymore hesitation, she grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him down for a kiss. Toph parted her lips, which motivated Aang to deepen the kiss.

A grunt from Appa pulled him back and he repeated his action of moving away when Toph pulled him back, "One more," she said and kissed him again.

------

"They're here," Chun Mei approached Qi Tai and the others at the mouth of the cave.

"Where?" Ruo He asked as he looked around.

"By the line of trees at the bank of the river. I felt the Avatar's presence," she informed them.

"Leave none alive," Qi Tai commanded as he eyed the area she described.

------

Toph broke away from the kiss and with Aang in hand they walked over to the others.

"We spotted the cave and saw one of them walking not far from it. Lei said that there are four in total, including Chun Mei," Sokka informed them. He was about to continue with more information when Toph held onto his shoulder.

She felt a rumble come from beneath them and she earthbended everyone against tree line and onto the open field before several spikes shot out from the ground. "I think they know we're here Sokka!" Toph took stance.

"Can you really feel my movements before they happen?" They heard Chun Mei's voice come from behind and they turned to see her and the Hang Lo stand in the middle of the field.

"I can do more than that!" Toph spat back at her as she jumped forward and plunged into the ground, which caused a large rock to come up from the ground. Toph kicked it midair and sent it hurtling toward Chun Mei and the others. Chun Mei turned around and gathered enough air to turn back and push it across the field.

"Airbending," Chun Mei laughed, "I bet you miss it," she said as she spoke to Aang.

Lei shook his head and he couldn't believe that this was his Chun Mei. He ran towards Qi Tai but Zuko held him back, "What did you do to her?!" he yelled to him.

"I only made her into what she was destined to become," Qi Tai laughed and took a couple of steps back, "Now I'll leave her to do her work."

"Like hell you will!" Lei pushed through and brought the fight full on.

Mao firebended at Zuko to catch his attention, "Fire Lord Zuko," he said as he took a bow.

"Sifu Mao?" Zuko shook his head, "You're behind all of this?"

"It is unfortunate that that scar has not taught you a lesson as of yet," Mao took his firebending stance at his old pupil. Mao didn't hesitate to send another burst of flame toward him, but Katara washed it out midway.

"How about the student teaches the master a lesson?" Katara stood up for him. Zuko looked at her and she winked at him…Mao was now their problem.

"That's a fancy sword you have there," Ruo He commented as he saw Sokka unsheathe his sword.

"A gift from my girlfriend, want to take a look at it up close?" Sokka said sarcastically as he swung it from side to side.

"I like mine more," Ruo He said as he unsheathed his as well. It was black and the only one of its kind…Sokka's old space-sword. He had lost it all those years ago when he dropped it from the airship.

"Where did you find that?" Sokka asked dumbfounded.

"Bought it off a merchant a year or so ago. Want to give it a go?" He teased him and that motivated Sokka enough to run forward. Their swords clashed against one another and like a fluid dance, Sokka fought against the man with his old sword.

Uncle Qin tripped Qi Tai with his earthbending as Lei sent a flash of fire toward him on the ground. Qi Tai rolled away from the fire and retaliated with his own firebending.

"Your father was weak and so are you," Qi Tai fueled Lei with more anger as he stood up. Lei back-kicked him and sent him back onto the ground.

He was about to bend down and punch him when Uncle Qin held him back by the arm, "He's using your anger to make you more like him. Don't give into that."

"He's right," Qi Tai laughed, "Not that it'll do you any good…you failed your mother, your father, your nation…and now your girlfriend!" Qi Tai firebended himself up and blasted Lei and Uncle Qin onto the floor.

Chun Mei waterbended the moisture from the surrounding plants and transformed it into sharp icicles, which she then shot at Aang and Toph. Aang touched the ground and brought it up to shield themselves from the icy spikes.

"Mirror move?" Toph asked him.

He nodded, "Mirror move." At the same time they came out from behind the stone wall and just like looking in a mirror, they mimicked each other's movements to send double the impact. They simultaneously sunk into ground, but Chun Mei knew exactly where they would appear next. She knew one would appear at her left and another at her right in a double side attack. The moment Aang and Toph resurfaced, Chun Mei sent a sliding wall at them and knocked them away.

"Did you really think that would work on me? Especially since I infiltrated your mind and know every possible tactic you can throw at me?" she spoke to Aang.

"All you have to do is touch me and that's it…you have your bending back, but you can't even do that," Chun Mei taunted him.

She felt someone tap her on the shoulder and when she turned around, Toph punched her across the face, "Did you see that one coming?"

Mao winced as Katara whipped him with her traditional octopus form, "You Water Tribe peasant!" He sent a wheel of fire toward her, but Zuko intercepted it and stopped it before it could do any harm.

"Is that how you talk to your future Fire Lady?" Zuko threatened him. Katara lost concentration and let the water splash onto the ground.

"You want me to be your Fire Lady?" Katara asked sweetly as her eyes started to tear with joy.

"Wasn't it obvious?" Zuko smirked at her and they heard Mao gag aloud.

"You're going to taint the throne with a non-royal from another nation?" Mao said disgustedly.

"Watch me," Zuko said as he resumed firebending.

The clash of swords sounded off in the distance as Sokka and Ruo He continued their non-bending battle.

"You're pretty good," Ruo He commented as he tried to distract Sokka with conversation.

"I learned from the best," Sokka replied as he pushed back to create some distance.

"Let me guess…Piandao?" Ruo He swung the space-sword from side to side.

"Yeah actually," Sokka entertained him.

"My brother was always the soft one," Ruo He faked going forward to test Sokka's agility.

"You're related?" Sokka watched his feet movement and then looked up back into his opponent's eyes.

"Unfortunately we are," Ruo He said as he plunged forward and resumed crossing blades with Sokka.

"You know, once this is all done and the Hang Lo succeed, I'd like to take Chun Mei for myself," Qi Tai said as he firebended at Uncle Qin, who blocked his movement.

"Over my dead body," Lei bent down tripped him onto the ground with his foot.

"Would it be too cliché to say 'That can be arranged!'?" Qi Tai laughed and finally Uncle Qin encased him with rock and set him upright.

"I don't see the Hang Lo succeeding now that their leader has been subdued," Uncle Qin said as he approached Qi Tai.

He momentarily looked to the others and saw that Sokka needed help. Apparently Sokka had disarmed Ruo He and now Ruo He was using his firebending as an alternative means to fight.

"Go help him," Lei spoke breathlessly and Uncle Qin left to do so.

"It's just you and me now," Qi Tai spoke to Lei even though he was fully encased in stone.

Chun Mei had airbended Toph off of her and Toph flew back a few feet into the air and slammed back into the ground. She screamed in pained when her knee made contact with the hard ground. As she attempted to get back up, she found that her knee buckled under her weight. Aang crawled over to her as Toph flipped over onto her back in agony.

Aang looked to see that her knee was bleeding, "Your leg is broken," he said and then was pushed farther away by Chun Mei's earthbending.

Aang just about had enough. He focused his energy and his eyes flashed once as he entered the Avatar State. He slammed his hands onto the floor and made the ground rumble toward her until a spike shot up and sent Chun Me flying back away from Toph. The force of the quake, however, was enough to crack Qi Tai's encasing, making it easier for him to escape.

Aang brought up a wall from the ground and continuously punched the back of it to send dozens of small boulders toward her. Chun Mei successfully dodged the first few, but was overwhelmed by the speed and quantity of the flying rocks. She lost focus and without notice, a single rock hit the side of her head and she cried out in pain.

Lei turned his attention from Qi Tai and saw as Chun Mei fell to the ground. Chun Mei closed her eyes as several flashes of her life flickered through her mind. Her life at the shrine and images of Goro and the other Gangwen villagers flooded her thoughts, but none more than the image of Lei. She saw him smile, laugh, cry as she remembered who she was.

She opened her eyes and her heart pounded as she had no idea where she was.

Katara and Zuko lured Mao close enough to river for her to waterbend a flood over him. She blew onto it and froze his surroundings…he was frozen in ice.

"Nice," Zuko approached her and caught her when she threw herself at him into a hug.

"And yes, I will be your Fire Lady," she said as she kissed his cheek.

"Good, 'cause I wasn't taking no for an answer," he laughed as Uncle Qin and Sokka approached them.

"I got my space-sword back!" he said happily.

Uncle Qin pointed over his shoulder and they saw Ruo He hanging upside down by an earthen structure.

"I helped him," he said.

"Yeah, but I did most of the fighting," Sokka reminded him.

"That's not how I'll remember it," Uncle Qin joked with him and then Katara brought them back to reality.

"What about the others?"

"Lei?" Chun Mei called out as she stood up to see the only person she recognized stand a few yards from her.

"Mei?" he answered back and he knew by the sound of her voice that something was different. Lei started to walk toward her, but Qi Tai broke through his bounds and held Lei back with a dagger against his throat.

"So we're back to the beginning, aren't we, Lei?" Qi Tai reminded him as he walked to have a good view of everyone. Aang, Chun Mei, and Toph stood a few yards away to his left and the other four from the Avatar's group stood about the same distance to his right.

"No Qi Tai, let him go!" Chun Mei walked closer, but Aang held her back.

The moment he touched her Aang felt overwhelmed by the surge of power that flowed from her back to him. Three glowing charges pulsated from their touch as he felt a flicker of strength burn more brightly in him. By the end of it, they both fell to the ground and they were panting as if they just ran 20 miles with a back of rocks on their back.

"You fool!" Qi Tai walked forward with his dagger still on Lei's neck, "You gave the Avatar back his bending!"

"They rightfully belong to him. You're all alone now," Chun Mei said as she helped Aang up from the floor.

"No! I always get what I want!" Qi Tai yelled as he shoved Lei away from him and threw the dagger.

It hit the target square on the stomach. The force of the impact pushed Aang back on the ground. The moment he touched the ground, Toph's heart stopped in a sudden drop. Chun Mei stepped back wide-eyed as the Avatar lay on the ground writhing in pain. It was as if all hope had been drained out of the world.

Toph shook her head as her tears streamed down her face. She crawled her way over to Aang as fast as she could. Within moments she placed her hands on his stomach and he winced at the touch. She felt his shirt damp with blood and her hands went up to his face, "Aa-Aang, I'm here," she said through the lump in her throat.

He was breathing rapidly and shut his eyes as the pain coursed through his body again, "Toph!" he struggled to say.

Everyone had gathered around them and Katara dropped to her knees to see what she could do with her healing abilities. She enveloped water over her hands and within moments she knew that the damage was too severe. She looked up at Zuko for help, but there was nothing he could do.

"Toph I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No! No, do something Katara!" she said as she felt Aang's heartbeat and breathing slow.

"Toph," she heard Aang whisper and of all times, Toph would have given anything to see him.

"I'm right here," she said as she brushed her hands through his hair and kissed him.

She then heard Qi Tai laughing in the background, "I did it!"

Toph didn't hold back her anger. She bended a piece of dirt around leg for support and got up from the ground. As Qi Tai continued to laugh, Toph grabbed him by the neck and with as much force she could muster, she slammed his back onto the ground. With one hand still on his neck, she took the other arm and buried it into the ground. When she brought it back out, a sharp blade was wrapped her arm and she held it against Qi Tai's chest.

He continued to laugh, "You wouldn't dare. I know your kind. The ones who would never kill, even when it's the last option."

Toph pulled him up slightly and slammed him back, "I was that kind. Up until you threw a dagger into the only thing that kept me from becoming like you," she said as she dug the stone blade a bit deeper into his chest.

"Toph stop!" Katara approached them, "Aang wouldn't want you to do this!"

Toph closed her eyes and slightly pulled back the stone blade, "You're right Katara," she said.

She opened her eyes and swallowed heavily, "But I'm going to do it anyway," she said as she attempted to plunge the stone blade into Qi Tai's chest, but something stooped her.

"Let me do it!" Toph screamed as she knew what was holding her back. It was her uncle's earthbending.

"Taking a life is the hardest thing to go through, Toph," Uncle Qin advised her.

"NO! Losing Aang will be the hardest thing," Toph continued to push forward, but her uncle didn't sway.

"And then what! You take his life and then what! If you do this, he will die quick and painless while the love of your life is suffering without you by his side!" Uncle Qin reasoned with her. He shattered the blade and pulled her up.

"I've taught you better than this!" he spoke harshly to her, but then softened his tone, "You know better than this, Toph. Only in defense…never in offense," he told her.

At the sound of those words she thought back to her conversation with Aang, "_Plus, your uncle told me something 'Only in defense, never in offense'." _Another pang hit her chest as she remembered the kisses they had just shared.

She rubbed her eyes, but burst into tears again as her uncle pulled her into a hug. Uncle Qin walked her over to where Aang lay helpless. Qi Tai got up and surreptitiously pulled out another dagger from his boot. He aimed it at the Avatar's partner, but Lei was the faster shot. The moment he saw Qi Tai pull out another dagger, Lei grabbed the dagger from Zuko's belt and threw it at Qi Tai's chest.

Everyone saw Qi Tai fall back lifeless and turned to Lei, "Only in defense…" he said. Uncle Qin clapped his on the back and thanked him.

Toph kneeled back onto the floor and grabbed Aang's hand. She felt his breathing and heartbeat grow faint by the second, "I love you," she whispered to him. He slowly moved his head to see her and he roughly repeated the words.

Lei touched his shoulder without thought and it was as if lightning struck him. He knelt down to Chun Mei, "You can heal him."

Chun Mei shook her head, "My healing abilities don't exceed those of a waterbender. If she says that she can not heal him, I can't do anything for him either."

"How do you know that?" Lei asked her, "Up until a yesterday you didn't even know you could turn evil by acquiring other people's bending." She started to shake her head, but he insisted, "Just try."

Everyone looked at her teary-eyed and hopefully. She approached the wound, "I have to remove the dagger," she said and Toph answered, "Do it."

Chun Mei nodded and without hesitation she grabbed the handle and pulled it out. Aang screamed out in pain again as blood started to accumulate in his mouth. Chun Mei placed both of her hands on his stomach and focused her spiritual energy.

Toph tightened her hold on his hand and whispered soft nothings into his ear as Chun Mei attempted to heal him. She shook her head at the extensive damage and was about to stop when she felt it…a connection to the Avatar and his chakras.

Both Aang and Chun Mei opened their eyes at the same time and from them emanated a white glow. Aang's arrows also glowed as the wound started to close and his heartbeat picked up in pace.

The spiritual connection stopped and Chun Mei fainted out of exhaustion. Lei caught her as Aang simultaneously woke up. He touched his stomach and the pain was gone. He turned to see everyone with teary-eyes smiles while one person attacked him from the other side. Toph showered him with kisses, "Don't you ever do that to me again!" she cried out as buried her head in his neck.

"I love you too," he laughed as he hugged her tightly around the waist.

He saw Chun Mei unconscious on the floor and Lei calmed his worries, "She's alright. Just tired," he said as he brushed her hair away from her face.

"Why was she able to heal Aang?" Katara asked and Uncle Qin offered her an answer.

"I believe it's the same reason why Aang was able to locate her position earlier at the manor. The two have a spiritual connection. The same spiritual connection she formed when she first acquired his airbending. And the fact that he is the Avatar aided in the healing process."

"Right," Sokka scratched his forehead, somewhat confused at all of this spirit mumbo-jumbo, "Can we have a wedding now?"

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**Notes**: I am totally sacrificing my sleep for you guys! Lol! I have to wake in three hours to go to work, but I figured by the time I'll get home, I'm going to enjoy the wonderful reviews you guys will leave me from reading this awesome chapter! So LEAVE A REVIEW! lol!

Wasn't that awesome! I love how it plays out in my head and I wish I could draw so that way I can draw certain scenes for you guys! So yeah, I couldn't make Toph kill Qi Tai. As exciting as that would have been, I couldn't. It really would have degraded her character and it would have brought her down to Qi Tai's psychotic level. I couldn't do that to the Toph!god! that she is!

Let me know what you think!!!!


	11. Chapter 11: Elements

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes**: Okay, here's the next chapter! I know I promised a wedding in this chapter, but I had a couple of other issues to resolve in this one before the wedding. So I promise that the next chapter will be on the wedding! But you will definitely love this chapter since it has a bit more action and lots more fluff! Enjoy! And don't forget to leave a review!

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**Chapter Eleven:** **Elements**

Toph winced as she felt the cracks and bruises of her knee mend under Aang's waterbending. He looked at her and smirked at the fact that she refused to yelp out in pain. He looked back down at her wound and then she grabbed his attention.

"I should have stopped that dagger," Toph said as she pulled blades of grass from the floor and threw them away.

"There was nothing you could do. I didn't even see it coming," Aang replied as the faint memory of the stab replayed in his mind. Not even the electricity that Azula shot him with years ago could measure up to the searing pain he experienced moments ago.

He finished healing her and sat closer. He grabbed her hands and gently kissed her knuckles, "What can I do to make you come back to me?" he whispered as he noticed the dazed look on her face.

She squeezed his hands lightly and brought one of them up to her face, "I'm just…scared that this isn't real. That you're really not here and I'm just stuck in my own mind."

Aang recalled those similar words when they first got together at the Western Air Temple. She was worried that her new-found relationship would disappear once she woke up in the morning and questioned whether it was real.

"Is this real?" he asked as he leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead. She nodded and he saw her smile. She too remembered that night and so he continued, "Is this real?" he said and kissed her nose.

"Is this—" he started again, but was interrupted when she pulled him in for a kiss on the lips. Aang didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss even though they were surrounded by the others. The softness of his lips reeled her back into the reality she desperately wanted to be apart of. She bit down on his lower lip in an attempt to breathe, but it doesn't last long as he closed the space and locked lips with her again.

Katara and Zuko rounded up Ruo He and Mao, while Lei and Uncle Qin buried Qi Tai. "Everyone deserves a proper burial, regardless of their actions," Uncle Qin spoke wisely and he earthbended the ground to close over Qi Tai's lifeless body.

Lei looked on and he finally felt a pinch of relief. No longer did he have to worry about his past coming back to haunt him. The source of his hiding and constant fear of being found was now gone. He was the last of his family and he took this as the opportunity to start over. He felt Chun Mei slip her hand into his and he smiled down at her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and he shook his head as he fully turned to her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Qi Tai and the others manipulated you and used you for the wrong reasons," Lei told her as he held onto her shoulders.

"That still doesn't erase my guilt. I know I'm a threat to those around me, but I still continued to live like I was normal. I'm not normal, Lei," she looked up at him and shed a tear.

"I understand that you're different, Mei. Never in a million years would I have suspected you, of all people, to be a half-spirit…this fabled Acquisitor. But that's who you are and you can't change that." He wiped her tears away and used his knuckles to caress her jaw. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

"I want to live a life with you, Mei," he said and she opened her eyes at his words. Her heart stopped as she waited for what was about to come, "Marry me?" She started to shake her head in shock and Lei took that as a rejection. His head fell in disappointment and his long hair covered the tears that threatened to come out.

Mei realized her mistake and spoke out confidently, "Yes." Lei looked up at the sound of her voice.

"Yes?" he clarified.

"Yes!" Mei repeated and laughed as he picked her up and twirled her around. Everyone including Toph and Aang, who were in quiet conversation with each other, looked over at the happy couple.

"What happened?" Katara asked as Uncle Qin clad both Ruo He and Mao with stone restraints.

"Lei and I are going to get married," Chun Mei spoke happily.

"Two marriages?" Sokka exclaimed and then quickly thought about it, "Wait, that's twice the food and party….Congratulations you guys! I'm invited, right?" he said as he approached Chun Mei and Lei.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and yelped in pain as he was shocked with electricity, "Ouch! A simple no would have been enough," Sokka said as he examined his hand. Lei too jumped back as Chun Mei sparked him with an electric charge.

Chun Mei scrunched her forehead in confusion as Lei attempted to touch her again. His hand repelled off her as the wind started to pick up.

Aang helped Toph up from the ground and approached the scene. Random streaks of electric current jumped from Chun Mei's body and everyone stood back as she crouched down in pain. Lei went to her aid, but Sokka pulled him just in time before a charge could hit him on the arm.

Chun Mei looked up at the others, particularly at Aang, "What's happening to me?" she struggled to say.

At that moment, strings of earth shot up from around her and formed a cage. Several of the strings bound her hands together and one wound itself around her neck to hold her upright. Everyone stepped back as the earth cracked in front of her and light emanated from the crevices. The moment the light dissipated, five beings appeared only one of which Aang recognized.

"Avatar Kyoshi?" Aang said as he took a step forward, but Toph held him back.

The past Avatar bowed as did the other four beings, a female and male on her right and another female and male on her left. All four wore white kimonos, similar to what Uncle Qin wore. Each also wore a different colored belt around the waist with the center covered by the elemental signs for water, earth, fire, and air.

"Avatar Aang, I am glad you have regained your bending. After our encounter in the Spirit World, I realized that the situation was too dire to be left to you alone. I sought council with the elemental spirits and they too were not aware of the Aquisitor's existence," she said as she cautiously looked over at the Spirit of the Earth, who had lied to protect his daughter's life.

Chun Mei realized who he was and called out to him, "Father?" The Spirit of the Earth, a tall man with rugged features and black hair pulled up into a ponytail, turned to her and the look of his eyes held so much sorrow.

"The elemental spirits have come to a decision and for the better interest of this world…the Acquisitor can not be kept alive," Avatar Kyoshi informed them.

"No!" Lei called out and grabbed Sokka's spare sword from the warrior's back, his space sword secured at his waist.

The Spirit of Fire lifted her hand and heated the metal to the point that Lei dropped it before he gained any burns, "The Acquisitor poses a threat to this world's people and to the balance between both worlds," spoke the womanly figure that represented fire.

"Her name is Chun Mei and she is a shrine maiden from one of your temples! She's dedicated her whole life to serving the spirits!" Lei tried to reason with them.

"She has served us well, but her nature is not one to be trifled with. You yourself have witnessed her power and the Avatar almost died because of her," spoke the Water Spirit.

"Stop!" Toph called out as she passed Aang to address the situation.

"You're supposed to be all-knowing and powerful spirits, right? Where were you when the Avatar was possessed by this 'Aqcuisitor'?" Toph mocked them with her air quotes, "Where were you when he almost fell? Where were you when that man decided to plot against the Avatar?" she referred to Qi Tai, "As a matter of fact, where were you when Sozin took over the world ruthlessly a hundred years ago?!"

"We cannot interfere when it comes to the free will of others," answered the male figure of the Air Spirit.

Toph laughed and continued her diatribe, "So what gave you the right to interfere with this man's relationship? It was his free will to pursue a mortal woman, wasn't it?" she said as she pointed to the Earth Spirit. His head sunk lower at the attention.

"Hold your tongue!" the Fire Spirit lashed at her, "What you speak of is blasphemy!"

"No, it sounds to me like you don't want to tarnish your own 'godly' image, so you want to get rid of any trace that leads back to the almighty spirits," Toph spoke out. The Fire Spirit sent out ball of fire toward her, but Aang deflected it. The look on his face sent daggers as held Toph by the waist.

The Water Spirit came around and held back the Fire Spirit's arm, "You know better than to lash out at a human, especially one that possesses the Avatar's fated spirit." The Water Spirit turned to Toph and advised her to continue cautiously.

"If the people of this world mattered to you so much, you wouldn't have let hundreds die during Sozin and Ozai's reign. The fact that Chun Mei poses a threat doesn't bother you…it's the fact that you guys don't want to admit that you messed up. That for all these years, you had no clue that she existed…and the moment something sparks up, you guys just show up out of the blue? I'm not going to buy into your spiritual 'we love the world' story."

Aang smirked slightly and he inwardly admitted that he could not have handled this situation any better. He held on tightly to her as the spirits pondered her words.

"What do you propose?" asked the Air Spirit as he approached Toph.

"Let Chun Mei live and we promise not to tarnish your image?" Toph suggested with a big smile as she crossed her arms about her chest.

"That is out of the question!" the Fire Spirit called out but was silenced when the Air Spirit lifted his arm.

"We shall deliberate," he said and walked back to the others.

Toph turned to Aang and he held her face, "Where did you learn to negotiate like that?" he asked as the others came around.

"Spirit, half-spirits, humans…they're all the same. The only thing in this existence I can truly believe to be sincere when it comes to others' well-being is you," she said honestly and Aang was truly touched.

"We've come to a decision," called out the Water Spirit and everyone turned to see what would happen.

"Chun Mei can live," the Air Spirit started to say and Lei sighed in relief, "But only on one condition."

Everyone held their breath as the Earth Spirit spoke for the first time since they had arrived, "She is forbidden to reproduce." Lei's heart fell as he looked to Chun Mei. Her head dropped in defeat as the words hit her. She couldn't have children…she couldn't have Lei's children.

The Fire Spirit spoke up to clarify, "We can not foresee the effects of a half-spirit's offspring. She either accepts the condition or she forfeits her life."

Lei pushed through the spirits and fell to Chun Mei's earthen cage. In his five years of knowing her, he knew Chun Mei loved children. He lifted her head up to look at him, "Mei, we can get through this," he looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"I can't give you children," she cried as she shook her head.

"All I want is you," he told her honestly, then he reasoned with her, "Remember Jana and the other group of kids that came to visit the shrine a year ago to be adopted?" Chun Mei nodded as she bit her lip from crying more, "Remember Jana was the only left because all of the others were adopted. Remember you wanted to have her for yourself and I offered to be the father?" She closed her eyes and continued to nod at the memory, "When you approached Fuyu the next day, you found out that Jana had just been adopted and you were broken-hearted?" She burst out crying again and he caressed her cheek.

"We can find another Jana that needs us," he spoke sincerely, "As long as I have you, I can have everything else," he whispered to her.

She nodded and sniffed, "I accept your proposal," she said and Lei sighed in relief. The strings of earth crumbled and he caught her.

"Live your life as you see fit, but the spirits will keep a close eye on you," the Water Spirit spoke.

"Wait!" Chun Mei called out to them, "I want to talk to my father."

"That was not in our agreement," the Fire Spirit warned her and earth shook slightly.

They turned to see that Toph had stomped on the floor, "Let the woman talk to her dad."

The Air Spirit considered it and nodded his head once for approval. The Earth Spirit turned to Chun Mei and she ran to hug him.

"You look just like your mother," he spoke to her as he pulled back.

"Do you miss her?" she asked as she memorized her father's features.

"In ways that words can't describe," he replied as he brushed her hair behind her ear. He looked up at the other spirits and knew that enough time had lapsed.

"I must go," he told her and she shook her head.

"You can't, you have to meet Lei and there's so much I want to know about my mom," she said as Lei approached from the back.

"Lei is a fine man. He's met me before, even though he may not remember," he whispered as to not let the other spirits hear.

Lei's eyebrow scrunched in confusion and then it hit him, "The man at the crossroads? When I left the Fire Nation and came to the Earth Kingdom, I met you on the road. You told me to head south to a village called Gangwen. I turned to thank you, but you were gone," he said as he held out his arm to shake.

Chun Mei's father took it graciously, "And I'm glad you found your way there. You are what my daughter needs and I give my hearty approval to your union." Lei bowed in respect and thanked him.

"We must go," called out the Air Spirit as the others started to dissipate.

Chun Mei shook her head, but her father held it to kiss her on the forehead, "I will always watch over you. And I know your new-found family will help you with questions about your mother," he said as he pointed over to Uncle Qin and Toph.

Chun Mei nodded and hugged her father one last time before he too disappeared.

Avatar Kyoshi turned to Aang, "May you live a long and fruitful life, Aang," she said before she dissipated into nothing.

Finally, the Air Spirit was the last one and he too turned to Aang, "My heartfelt thanks to your continual practice of the air element," he said as he bowed in respect, "Perhaps you will bear more airbenders and restore the greatness of your people."

Aang and Toph blushed and Zuko added humorously, "Not unless they're earthbenders."

"Heredity passes along the father, last time I checked," the Air Spirit smiled and Toph sighed

"Great, more airheads to deal with," she laughed as she turned to Aang, who seemed a bit disappointed, "What's wrong?"

He grabbed her hand and shrugged his shoulder, "I thought you wanted earthbenders."

She smiled at his thoughtfulness and placed a hand on his face, "As long as it's with you, I don't care if it even comes out like Sokka."

"Hey! I resent that," Sokka feigned hurt, but he knew Toph always made fun of him not being a bender. Everyone laughed and the Air Spirit turned to Chun Mei and Lei.

"I really am sorry about your loss," he said as he referred to her inability to have children.

Chun Mei nodded as Lei took her hand, "I'm just glad to be alive," she said as she looked up at Lei.

The Air Spirit smiled and heard an air bison grunt not far behind. He bowed in preparation to leave, "Perhaps a faster way home can be arranged for such an arduous journey?" Aang was about to decline since they had Appa, but the Air Spirit snapped his fingers and a sudden rush of wind appeared.

No one could explain how they got there, but everyone including Appa and Momo had appeared on the courtyard of the Bei Fong manor. The rush of wind died down and the Air Spirit was gone.

Sokka's stomach lurched and then he remembered, "Moon cakes!"

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Night had fallen and after a large feast, mostly everyone in the Bei Fong manor had retreated to their rooms. Mao and Ruo He were taken to the Gaoling detention home, where they will away their trial at Ba Sing Se.

Lei and Chun Mei were given two separate guest rooms. Chun Mei had cleaned herself up and changed into spare garments. She saw the gardens from her room window and decided to take the fresh walk outside. As her bare feet walked the dewy grass, she admired the spring flowers under the moonlight. She stopped at a tree and leaned against it.

So much had happened in the last day that she couldn't wrap her head around them. She felt a shawl drape around her shoulders and she smiled as she felt Lei's arms slip around her waist.

"I hope you don't mind that I followed you," he said as rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I was starting to get lonely, I'm glad you did," she nudged his head with hers and held onto his hands on her abdomen.

"Are you happy?" Lei asked in earnest and Chun Mei was shocked that he had to ask.

She turned around in his embrace and rested her palms against his chest. She saw that he had picked up his hair in a ponytail and she was thankful that the night covered her blush. She loved it when he picked up his hair. She got to see more of his face that way.

"I'm more than happy," she replied. He was about to question her again, when she placed a finger over his lips, "I met my dad, I found out I have a family, and…I have you. What more could I want?"

Lei was thinking more along the lines of her inability to have children, but he put the topic aside, "At least you can rub it in Hailan's face when we get home," he laughed.

"I hate her," she laughed with him. Hailan was a girl their age who had the biggest crush on Lei. She would bring her friends over every time he was at work at the blacksmith's shop, but Lei never showed interest in her.

"You know you were always the only one for me," he said as he brushed his hand through her hair.

A silent moment fell between them and then Chun Mei leaned in to him. She caressed her nose against his neck and kissed him under his chin, "I missed you," she said as her hands traveled up and around his neck.

She looked up and Lei focused on her lips before he looked her in the eye, "I'm not going anywhere…for a very long time. I meant it when I said I want to live a life with you, Mei."

He leaned in closer and stopped a few inches away from her lips, "I love you," he said and closed the space between them.

------

Earlier that night, during dinner, Toph's mother had gone on about how they should all prepare themselves for the influx of relatives that were expected to arrive the next morning. That's when it hit Aang and Toph…they were getting married in two days. One day dedicated to a family reunion and the next day was for the wedding.

Aang opened the window to Toph's room and let the night air cool the room. He then sat on the bed and grabbed the hairbrush from the nightstand.

"I remember what the color red looks like and I gotta tell you, green is so much better," Toph commented as she reviewed the wedding details in her head aloud. Her wedding dress, as traditionally expected in her culture, was red.

Aang sat at the head of the bed and rested his back against the wall. Toph crawled over and sat in between his legs, where he removed the tie around her hair and brush it.

"I think red is a great color," he said as he continued to brush her hair.

"Really? I remember Sokka told me it's the color of the Fire Nation and even though we're on good terms with them and everything, I just don't want it as the color of my dress. It's such a…weird color," she said as she picked her toes.

"Red is not a weird color," he laughed since he never thought he would have to argue with her on the color of a dress. Toph and dresses hardly ever mixed.

"Yeah, well give me one instance where red is actually a pretty color. Then I'll wear it with pride," she asked and he carefully thought about her request.

He put the brush aside and parted her hair so that he could see her partially bare back. He leaned down and kissed the part below her neck and then he kissed the space in between her shoulder blades. Toph involuntarily shivered as he pushed her aside and kissed her shoulder. He turned her around in her seat and pushed her onto the bed as he kissed her neck and jaw line.

Toph had to admit that Aang wasn't always this open when it came to intimacy, but whenever the occasion arrived, he was definitely very sensual and caring.

"Red is the color of passion," he said as turned the other side of her face and dropped kisses down her neck, "It's also the color of love." He felt her heart beat a mile a minute as did his own, but he still continued to get to his point, "Do you what else it's the color of?" he whispered against her ear.

"What?" she managed to say as the feel of his breath made heart jump.

"The color of your cheeks right now," he giggled as he picked on her. He pulled back and laughed as he saw the look on her face.

"Oh you are going to get it!" Toph said as pounced on him and tickled him on the sides.

She tortured him with giggling fits for the next few minutes until she finally got her satisfaction, "Say it!"

Aang laughed a bit more before he gave in, "Toph is the best and Aang will always bow down to her greatness," he said and Toph pet him on the head.

"Good boy," she said as she got off him, but not before Aang pulled her down to him in a hug. She settled herself into the embrace as the two breathed deeply from the wrestling.

"I love you," Aang said as he rubbed her back up and down, "I really can't imagine living life without you."

Toph slipped her hand beneath his shirt and gently caressed the area where he was stabbed in, "I love you too," she said and nudged her head against his shoulder, "Now stop with the mushy stuff or I'm going to have to tickle you again," she laughed, but they held onto each other for the rest of the night.

* * *

**Notes**: Okay! So like I said, I know I promised a wedding in this chapter, but I really had to resolve that issue with Chun Mei and the two relationships at the center of this story. So yeah, next chapter, I promise!!! The next chapter will definitely focus on the wedding! WOOT! OH man!

And yes, I had to mention Toph and Aang…with KIDS! I had to! I'm just so insane, that I may write another sequel! I may go George Lucas on all of you and go with another story, lol! But it's too early to say! Until next, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Leave me a review!!


	12. Chapter 12: Bound

**Fragile Balance**

**Notes**: THIS IS REALLY IT GUYS! Here is the wedding! I'm still thinking of writing a "wedding night" chapter, but we shall see! Let me know what you all think!

* * *

**Chapter Twelve:** **Bound**

On the day before Toph and Aang's wedding, countless family members showed up on the door step. Poppy's sister, Feng, (the "Bubbly" one, as Poppy called her) appeared at the crack of dawn, ready to arrange decorations and partake in the joyous event. Several of Feng's children, all boys, ran past the maid who opened the door and their chatter carried down the guest corridors.

"It's too early for this!" Sokka moaned and covered his head with his feathered pillow.

Not long after, Poppy's brother, Guang, (the "Smart" one, also nicknamed by Poppy) appeared with the family book in one hand and a quill in the other, ready to document the ceremony for future reference. His beautiful wife batted her eyelashes at the maid as the two stepped over the threshold to be greeted by a recently awoken Poppy and Lao.

"Sister," Guang greeted Poppy with a hug.

"Guang, I'm happy you have come and I see you have our family book with you," Poppy acknowledged the leather-bound book in his hand.

"To document my favorite niece's wedding, of course," he stated and tapped the top of the book lightly.

"She's your only niece," Lao mumbled under his breath. He never liked his wife's brother. Lao always took him to be a pompous know-it-all.

But Guang inherited that attitude and when Lao heard the door sound, he dreaded what was behind it.

The maid opened the door and there stood the object that made it so hard for him to court Poppy all those years ago as a young man…his mother-in-law, Annchi. In their language, Annchi meant "Angel," but she was no angel to him.

The elderly woman with long white braided hair stepped over the doorway with her ivory cane and without greeting said, "Where is my granddaughter?"

------

"Toph…" a gentle voice called out to her. Her ears motioned slightly toward the sound and for a moment she thought it was Aang.

"Toooooph!" the voice called out in sing-song and she definitely knew that it wasn't Aang. He knew better than to wake her up like that.

"Yes Katara?" Toph replied groggily and lifted her hand to push her back. As she did that, she realized that Aang was not next to her as they had fallen asleep together the previous night.

"Where's Aang?" she lifted up her head at once to properly hear her surroundings, but Katara seemed to be the only one in the room.

"He's asleep in his own room. I caught you two in a compromising position," she said as she tossed herself across the bed, "See, your left leg was over his right one and his hand was under your shirt—," and before she could continue, Toph smacked her with a pillow.

Katara giggled, "Just be happy that I found you before your parents did."

Toph slammed herself back against the bed and yawned, "Why are you up this early?"

"Come on Toph! It's the day before your wedding! You need to get your hair done, you need to clean yourself up, and you have to greet your family members, who by the way are coming by the boatload," she said as she looked over to Toph.

"Yeah I heard my cousins running by…the little runts," Toph replied as she got up and stretched.

"Speaking of cousins…are you going to pay Chun Mei a visit? You guys haven't really talked since we came back yesterday," Katara said as she sat up on the bed.

Toph shrugged her shoulders and continued to stretch her limbs, "I'll do it later." Toph felt Katara's stare burn the back of her neck and she sighed in defeat, "Fine! I'll go find her now, just stop staring me down with your 'Judgment' face!"

"I do not have a 'Judgment' face!" Katara retaliated and then quickly added, "She's down the hall I just saw her go back into her room," she smiled happily.

Toph shook her head at Katara's sweet nature and her amazing intelligence for these types of things and stepped out of her room to find Chun Mei.

------

Aang felt the side of his head being poked at and he finally reacted by swatting the hand away.

"Come on lover boy…wakey-wakey!" Sokka's voice sang as he lay next to Aang on the bed. When Aang refused to wake up, Sokka shook him, "Come on! If I have to wake up this early, you have to suffer just the same!"

"Sokka, just because a few kids jumped onto your bed thinking you were Aang doesn't mean that you have to shake the man senseless," Zuko advised him from the other side of the room.

A knock sounded on the door and then Lei appeared in the crack of the doorway. He saw Zuko and Sokka and proceeded to come in, "Finally, people I know. There're about two dozen people out there," Lei said as he leaned against the back of the door.

Lei looked over and saw as Sokka tried to tickle Aang in the ear with a feather from the pillow. He turned to Zuko and Zuko merely shook his at the warrior's attempt to wake up the Avatar.

"Maybe he's dead?" Sokka commented as he lifted up his arm and waved it over at Zuko and Lei.

"I'm not dead," Aang replied as he turned over and hugged his pillow. He woke up instantly and realized that it wasn't Toph he was holding. He then remembered that Katara woke him up at some ungodly hour and that's why he felt more tired than usual.

He looked over at Sokka and then squinted his eyes over at the other two across the room, "What's today?"

"It's the day you shave your head, Master Airbender, because tomorrow you are tying the knot!" Sokka ruffled his hair.

"And you have family members waiting to meet you outside," Zuko added and smiled at the torture Aang would have to experience under the scrutiny of Toph's family members.

Aang sighed and dropped his head against the pillow, "The day hasn't even started and I just want it to be over."

"It can't be that bad to meet the in-laws," Lei tried to cheer him up, but Aang shook his head.

"This is Toph's family we're talking about…It took a catastrophe to win her uncle over, I can only imagine how the rest of the family is like," he replied and just then an elderly woman barged through the door.

Aang, who was shirtless, pulled the sheets up to his neck and made Sokka fall off the bed. All four young men stared at the elderly woman with the ivory cane, "Which one of you is marrying my granddaughter?"

------

"Come in," Chun Mei answered the knock from her door and turned from the window to see Toph enter the room. Toph closed the door behind her and an awkward silence fell between them.

"So…" Toph started, but couldn't think of anything to continue.

"One more day, huh?" Chun Mei picked up after her.

"Yeah, tomorrow's the big day…You're staying right?" Toph asked as she scratched the back of her head.

Chun Mei smiled and took a few steps closer, "I was going to ask you if Lei and I could, actually."

"Yeah, of course you can stay. You're my—," Toph hesitated, but found the word she needed to say, "Cousin…you're family."

Chun Mei looked down at the floor and Toph's words made her heart flutter. She had a family…even after all of the chaos, something good came out of it.

"I really am sorry Toph," Chun Mei spoke sincerely, "After everything I did to you and Aang, please forgive me."

Toph shifted her weight from side to side and swallowed hard. Forgiveness and Toph never saw eye to eye, especially when the person who almost killed her husband several times was asking for it. After careful consideration, she realized that she and Aang weren't the only victims and Chun Mei was a victim just the same.

Toph walked up to Chun Mei and lightly punched her on the arm. Chun Mei winched and received a clarification, "I forgive you. Just don't work your crazy powers on him again," she said with a smile.

Chun Mei smiled as well and looked down at her hands, "Thanks for sticking up for me against the Spirits yesterday."

"Forget about it," Toph said and waved the thought away.

"Actually, to return the favor, I think I may have an early wedding present for you," she said as she continued to look at her hands, "It'll only be temporary, maybe only lasting till the morning after the wedding…"

"Temporary? What kind of a present is that?" Toph laughed as she sat herself on the edge of the bed.

"Well if you don't want it, I'll go give it to some other blind person," Chun Mei smiled as she started to walk away.

Toph grabbed her by the hand, "Blind? What are you talking about?" she asked, interested at what she had to offer.

Chun Mei grabbed hold of her hands, "Spiritual powers have a funny way of fixing certain physical problems. Just like waterbending, I can fix a broken leg or arm. But unlike waterbending, I can tap into certain physical disabilities. One time, I gave this man the ability to walk for a few days. It was enough for him to dance with his wife for the first time in decades and he never looked so happy. He still thanks me for giving him the chance to walk one last time. I can do that with your blindness, Toph. If you let me, you can see your wedding, your friends, and our family, but it's only temporary."

"Why is it temporary?" Toph tried to act calm, but inside she was ready to explode.

"Blindness is apart of you. It's what makes you who you are. There are some things that are meant to be and you are Toph, the blind earthbender. But sometimes, with a little spiritual help, there are some ways around it, even if for a little while."

"And it'll only last me till the morning after the wedding?" Toph asked and Chun Mei nodded. Toph quietly thought about the option. She could see her parents, the rest of her friends, her wedding…her wedding night.

"Did I mention how awesome it is to have you as a cousin?" Toph punched her again and Chun Mei rubbed the area on her shoulder.

"I take it you want this?" Chun Mei laughed.

"Lay it on me!" Toph smacked her hands together and rubbed them. Chun Mei smiled as she placed her left hand above Toph's eyes and her right hand in the back of Toph's head.

"Okay, I need you to calm down and loosen yourself," Chun Mei advised her.

Toph wriggled her arms in the air and dropped them beside her, "There," she said.

Chun Mei shook her head at Toph's constant humor and as she too calmed herself, she focused her energy on Toph's eyes. Toph felt a warm feeling cover her forehead and eyes, which then traveled down to her lips and chin. Her whole face was tingling by the time Chun Mei pulled back her hand a few moments later.

Toph still had her eyes closed when Chun Mei took a step back. Just when Chun Mei was about to tell her to open them, Toph opened her right eye first and then her left. At first, the image before her was blurry and undefined. She blinked several times and the image became clearer. There stood Chun Mei, raven black hair in a pony tail and her ivory skin was like porcelain.

Toph looked down at her hands and then touched her face and eyes, "I can see!"

Chun Mei nodded happily and instantly caught Toph, who had thrown herself into a hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"I should be thanking you," Chun Mei laughed and Toph stepped back to look around the room.

"We're even now," Toph laughed and glanced over at the door, "I have to tell Aang," she said and ran out the room leaving a happy Chun Mei behind.

------

Sokka, Zuko, and Lei pointed to Aang and made sure to not stand in the way as Toph's grandmother eyed the young shirtless airbender.

"This gangly creature is going to marry my granddaughter?" the elderly woman questioned as she pushed down her glasses to take a good look at him.

"I'm not gangly!" Aang pushed down the sheet to show his refined features only to blush and bring the sheet back up to his neck again.

The grandmother approached Aang and with her ivory cane, she tapped him on the shoulder, "You look gangly to me. I need a strong man to pass on good traits to my future generations."

Aang blushed even more at the thought of reproduction, especially when the subject was brought up in front of his friends by Toph's grandmother.

"I'm strong," Sokka showed her his bicep from the side of the bed and Aang knocked him out with a pillow.

"Grandma?" a female voice called out from the doorway, "Grandma, is that you?"

The elderly woman turned around and squinted at her beautiful granddaughter, "Toph? My lovely Toph," she said as she approached her to give her a hug and a kiss on the top of the head.

"Your eyes seem fuller than usual," she commented and Toph simply stared at her grandmother for the first time.

"They are greener," Zuko commented from afar and Toph looked over to see the young Fire Lord.

"Hotness?" she said as she detached herself from her grandmother to get a closer look of Zuko.

Zuko waved his hand in front of him and she followed it, "You can see?"

Toph nodded and they too hugged each other, "How? Why?---What?" Zuko managed to say and Toph laughed at him.

She looked over at Lei, "Your girlfriend is pretty good with her hands," she said and Lei blushed.

"It was my idea; did she give me any credit?" Lei asked.

Toph shook her head, "I better handle that then," he said as he took his leave from the room.

Toph looked around and saw Sokka, "Yeah I saw you before. Nothing interesting there," she laughed as Sokka stuck out his tongue at her.

She finally directed her eyes toward Aang. Toph walked over to him as he stood up from the bed.

Sokka made his way over to Toph's grandmother and hooked his arm around hers, "Granny…can I call you Granny? I'm Sokka, by the way. A very good friend of your granddaughter…" he said and distracted her out of the room. Zuko smacked his forehead and followed them out and closed the door behind him.

Aang looked down at Toph and her eyes were in fact no longer cloudy. He raised his hands to her face and she leaned into his touch, "How?" she heard him say.

"Chun Mei and her spiritual healing," she answered as they looked into each other's eyes, "But it's temporary…it'll only last till the morning after the wedding."

Aang smiled, "You can actually see me?" he asked the obvious.

"Is your head full of air or something?" Toph knocked him lightly on the head and pulled on his ears, "Yes I can see you and you know what?"

"What?" Aang asked her as she lifted her leg beside him. That usually meant that she wanted to be picked up. He did as commanded and lifted her up to his waist, where she wrapped her legs around him. She encircled her arms around his neck and brought her lips closer to his, "I can actually wear shoes to my wedding." Aang laughed and kissed her full on the lips.

------

The rest of the day was spent in the company of family and friends. Sokka jumped with glee when Suki appeared early in the afternoon. She was disappointed to hear that she had missed out on the fighting, but happy to know that everyone was safe.

Aang got along quite well with Toph's younger cousins. He showed them airbending tricks that awed them and gave them rides on Appa. He also played a few games of Pai Sho with Toph's grandmother, Iroh, and Uncle Qin. The one momentary downside was the appearance of Nana Chan. Aang, however, quickly introduced her to Uncle Qin and left the two on their own.

Toph, more than anything, watched her entire family interact with one another. She made an effort to memorize each and everyone of their faces. She also got to know Chun Mei better and made jokes with Goro (who was given notice that Chun Mei and Lei were in Gaoling by Uncle Qin via messenger bird).

By late afternoon, everyone assembled and walked over to the family altar on the other side of the Bei Fong estate, where they made prayer and sought a peaceful future for the soon-to-be husband and wife.

As the sun set, those men closest to the groom pulled him off to the side and shared "manly" drinks with him as well as shave his head, while those women closest to the bride took her inside. Suki, Katara, and Chun Mei, as mature women (although they giggled everyone once in a while) prepared the wedding bed in the room next door.

Toph bathed quickly and when she was done, Poppy and her grandmother sat her by the window, where the two elderly women prepared to comb her hair as tradition dictated. All of the women exchanged conversation well into the night and eventually each left until Toph was left alone in her room.

She jumped into bed and tucked herself beneath the covers when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called out and bit her bottom lip when she saw Aang, who no longer had his disheveled dark brown hair.

"What are you doing here? The bride can't see the groom before the wedding!" Toph looked away and felt stupid at how traditional and 'girly' she sounded just then.

"Close your eyes then," he told her and jumped into the bed with her.

He laughed at the fact that she did close her eyes, "Are you really going to waste the time you have with your sight by closing your eyes?"

Toph peaked through one eye and then opened the other, "Fine, there. Now we have more bad luck than usual," she said as she slammed herself back onto the bed. Aang crawled over to lie down next to her and held his head up with his arm.

He leaned down slightly and smelled her, which caused her to shiver involuntarily, "You smell amazing," he whispered against his shoulder.

Toph smirked and shook her head, "You can't get into my pants yet. Did the guys tell you slip that one?"

Aang blushed, "I was being serious! And by 'guys' do you mean your father, uncle, and an overprotective Zuko, Sokka, and Iroh? No, they didn't tell me to slip that one to you. That would have been really weird," he laughed.

There was a momentary pause between them and then Toph spoke up, "I just can't believe it's tomorrow, it seemed so far away a couple of days ago," she said as her fingers played with his. He nodded in agreement and the conversation died again.

"Twinkle Toes?"

"Hmm?"

"Let me see your scar," she said and even though he thought it was an odd request, he pulled up the front of his shirt and showed her the scar on his stomach where he was stabbed. She traced a finger along it and leaned down to kiss it.

She rested her head against his stomach and took comfort in the rhythm of his breathing. They exchanged some more words of conversation, but eventually the two spent the rest of the night in silence as images of the day granted them a peaceful sleep.

------

"Toph, you look beautiful!" Katara clapped happily, her hair fully tied back in a bun. Suki and Chun Mei also shared the same simple hairstyle and all three wore s cream-colored Cheongsam dress, which was a comfortable one-piece dress, with golden embroidery.

Toph wore the traditional Qun Gua Kwa, a red two-piece dress with a golden phoenix and dragon. She complained it was too "Fire Nation," but had to respect that all nations wore the traditional red dress.

She looked at herself in the long mirror of her bedroom, while her mother fashioned her hair into a loose bun.

"Aang is definitely going to fall over on the altar when he sees you," Suki said as she handed her a bouquet of red flowers.

"Speaking of Aang, shouldn't he be arriving any time soon?" Chun Mei asked as she eyed the door. It was custom for the groom to come at the bride's door to escort her to the altar, where they would be blessed by Toph's parents and exchange their vows. But before that, Chun Mei, Katara, and Suki had to challenge Aang with several questions about his bride-to-be, an obstacle every groom was traditionally expected to overcome before a wedding.

The girls exchanged a few more words and then they heard it…a knock on the door.

"It's him, it's him!" Katara squealed and she grabbed Suki and Chun Mei and ran to the door. Poppy quickly looked over Toph's attire and then held her hand as Katara and the others opened the door.

As expected, Aang was at the door with Zuko, Sokka, and Lei in the back. Just like Katara, Suki, and Chun Mei, the three men in the back wore the male version of the Cheongsam, which was the Changshan. It was a two-piece outfit; the top was a golden yellow that matched the golden embroidery of the bride's dress and the pants were white linen. Each of them wore their hair up in pony-tails, or as Sokka protested "a Warrior's Wolf Tail."

Aang also wore the same attire as his best friends, only his top and pants were red, like Toph's dress.

Katara held a hand up to him as he attempted to cross the doorway, "Not yet Aang, you know you have to do 75 push-ups to show your strength and answer three questions about Toph correctly before you get anywhere near her," Katara informed him.

"Do I really need to do the push-ups?" Aang whined as he stood on the tip of his toes to steal a glance of Toph.

"Tradition!" Katara merely answered and pointed to the floor.

Aang obeyed and got down on the floor. He couldn't remember the last time he had to really exercise, but he started counting his push-ups anyway. He started to pant by the time he got up to 50 and Zuko reprimanded him, "You stopped doing your firebending exercises haven't you?"

Aang laughed weakly, but continued on to his goal of 75. On the last one he pushed himself up with airbending and swallowed heavily as he turned to Katara, "Questions now, right?"

Katara nodded, "Toph had to choose one of these four words to describe herself: clever, strong, bold, and courageous. What word did she end up picking?"

Sokka went up to Aang and said, "Choose strong, she'll be pissed if you don't."

Zuko pulled him back, "She obviously picked bold with her 'in your face' attitude."

They turned to Lei for advice and he just shrugged his shoulders, "What are you looking at me for? I hardly know her! She sounds like she has all of those qualities, so you got me..."

Aang ignored the bickering of the boys behind him and said, "She didn't pick either. Knowing her she made up her own word and it was probably something like 'awesome.'"

Katara shook her head and then laughed, "I can't believe you guessed that right. I really thought I had to give you a hint or something."

"Way to go Twinkle Toes!" Toph called out from the back of the room and Aang tried to steal a glance again, but Suki got in the way.

"Okay Aang, we'll see if you can get this next one right," she said as Sokka came to stand next to her.

"You look pretty Suki," he said in a dreamy state, but she scooted him over back to the other side laughing.

"Okay, Toph was presented with a situation. If she didn't have her earthbending, what would be her next choice of bending?"

"Oh oh oh! I know this!" Sokka pulled on Aang's arm, "She'd totally pick waterbending."

Aang turned to Zuko and Lei for their opinion and they simply looked at each other and then back to Aang. Simultaneously they said, "Firebending."

Aang smiled and patted Sokka on the back, "Sorry Sokka, but Zuko and Lei are right on this one. I remember Toph telling me that if she could have any other bending, it'd be firebending…just so that she can beat Zuko's butt with his own element."

"Not that it'd matter because I'd still win anyway," Toph called out.

"Yeah she probably would," Zuko murmured as to not let her hear and Toph laughed, "I heard that, Hotness!"

"Alright, alright! Aang got the second question right, now here's the third one," Suki gestured to Chun Mei and she stepped forward. Lei winked at her and she blushed under his stare.

She then turned to address the groom, "Avatar Aang, as you very well know, time is an illusion. That, however, does not affect the fact that as humans we still abide by our standards of time. This question has no right answer, but the bride requests that you answer truthfully. How do you see yourself decades from now?"

Aang smiled as an old memory quickly flashed through his mind. He saw a younger version of himself and Toph at the Southern Air Temple repairing some old foundations when she randomly asked him a question, "_Where do you see yourself ten years from now? Or thirty years from now? Or fifty?_"

"_That's kind of far ahead, don't you think?_"

"_Well do you see yourself as an old man?_"

"_Yeah, old and wise…I can see that. Why, don't you?_"

"_I don't know, I really don't have an image for the future. Do you think that's weird?_"

"_No, not weird. I think that's common…but how about you ask me in a couple of years and I'll draw you a picture of our future. I should have a better idea by then_…"

Aang snapped back to reality when Sokka poked him, "Answer the question already," he whispered.

Aang took a deep breath and answered, "I definitely see a more peaceful and fully rehabilitated world. And as the Avatar, I can see myself helping people day in and day out. But I honestly can't see myself doing it alone. Every time I think of tomorrow or the day after that or the day after that, Toph is always there. Not having her there would be like not having my airbending…she's everything to me. I have to grow old with her, because I can't see my life going any other way."

By this point Katara and Suki were teary-eyed and had moved aside to let Toph walk through them. She went around Chun Mei and grabbed Aang's hand as he continued to talk, "You're my best friend and you'll always be my best friend…and so much more."

Toph tip-toed to hug him tightly, "You're my best friend too."

"That…was so…beautiful," Sokka squeaked as he wiped his tears away with Zuko's sleeve. Toph pulled back and rolled her eyes at Sokka.

"Did I pass?" Aang asked her as he held out his arm for her to hold onto.

"What do you think girls?" Toph looked at her gang by the doorway.

"Can I marry him?" Suki asked dreamily.

"Suki!" Sokka dropped his jaw.

"I'll take that as a yes," Toph said as she grabbed his arm. Katara and Zuko paired off in front of them, followed by an appalled Sokka ("I can't believe you!") and a humored Suki ("It was just a joke, lighten up!"), and finally by Lei and Chun Mei.

An excited Poppy walked behind them until they reached the garden doors, where she quickly appeared by her husband's side at the family altar. Her appearance signaled the small band to play the harps as the three pairs of friends walked down the aisle. Family and friends stood up from the rows of chairs as they waited to be greeted by Aang and Toph.

"This is it Twinkle Toes. Did you ever think we'd get here?" Toph asked as he looked up at him.

He looked back down at her and tightened his hold over her hand, "I never had a doubt," he told her. She bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath as they walked out the garden doors.

As they walked down the aisle they waved to several new faces that had appeared only hours before: the Boulder, the Duke, Pipsqueak, the Scientist and his son, Haru and his father, and the familiar faces from the Foggy Swamp tribe. There were others as well, but Toph and Aang had to refrain from waiving as they reached the altar. There, they knelt in front of Uncle Qin, who was performing the ceremony.

"We are here today to witness the union of Avatar Aang and Toph Bei Fong. We pray to the spirits so that they may guide them through their coming years of marriage. Please bow to the spirits as a sign of respect," Uncle Qin prompted Toph and Aang. As requested, they bowed towards the altar, where large marble and granite stones with ancient characters stood surrounded by incense and candles.

"Now, please bow to your parents, for they have given you their blessing for this union." Again, Toph and Aang shifted over to their right and bowed respectfully towards Poppy and Lao, who bowed in return.

"Now, in one final act of respect, please turn and bow to each other, for a marriage with love and respect is one that the spirits will look down and smile upon." Toph and Aang turned to each other as instructed. Aang bowed first and Toph followed suit after. They both smiled at each other while they waited for Uncle Qin to continue.

"May I please have the golden thread?" he asked, but the person responsible seemed to be unaware. Uncle Qin pulled out his hand toward Sokka, "May I please have the golden thread?" Zuko nudged him and Sokka finally became aware that Uncle Qin's hand was right in front of his face.

"Oh right!" he said and tapped his sides. After a few moments of looking, he procured the golden thread. He gave it to Uncle Qin and gave two thumbs up to Toph and Aang. The two almost laughed, but held it in as Uncle Qin held the thread up in the air.

"This golden thread has been passed down from generation to generation and it will now be bestowed upon these two young lovers as they enter matrimony. As I tie the thread around their wrists, I will ask that Avatar Aang recite his oath."

Uncle Qin bent down and motioned Aang to pull out his right wrist, while Toph put out her left. Lao took a step forward from the altar and stood behind Aang, "Repeat after me."

"I, Avatar Aang, willingly and devotedly, will bind myself to Toph Bei Fong as I take her for my wife."

"_I, Avatar Aang, willingly and devotedly, will bind myself to Toph Bei Fong as I take her for my wife_."

"I will cherish her, protect her, and respect her for the rest of my days no matter the circumstance until death do us part."

"_I will cherish her, protect her, and respect her for the rest of my days no matter the circumstance until death do us part_." He smiled at her as the last part really didn't apply to them, what with their transcended lifetimes.

Uncle Qin held onto their joined wrists as he motioned Poppy to come over. She stood behind Toph and asked her to repeat the oath.

"I, Toph Bei Fong, willingly and devotedly, will bind myself to Avatar Aang as I take him for my husband."

"_I, Toph Bei Fong, willingly and devotedly, will bind myself to Avatar Aang as I take him for my husband_."

"I will cherish him, protect him, and respect him for the rest of my days no matter the circumstance until death do us part."

"_I will cherish him, protect him, and respect him for the rest of my days no matter the circumstance until death do us part._"

Poppy and Lao smiled at each other and walked back to join arms at the altar. Uncle Qin stood up and asked Toph and Aang to stand as well.

"The bond has been made, both physically and spiritually. As a priest of the First Order, and as your uncle, I now pronounce you husband and wife," he held up their joined hands and the spectators burst out into cheer.

Uncle Qin yelled "You may kiss the bride," but Aang had already moved in to officially claim what he could finally call his.

"Weren't they bound with the same hands before? At the Western Air Temple?" Katara asked Zuko as they clapped happily.

"I think you're right, with that tree sap?" Zuko said as he tried to remember the situation. And indeed, as Toph and Aang walked back down the aisle, they were joined with his right and her left, an exact image of the event that first brought them together.

The End

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**Notes**: That's it! I may do an epilogue of the "wedding night"…gasp! Lol! Depends how many reviews I get! Muahahaha! I really hope you liked the ceremony! I had to do a bit of research into ancient and modern Chinese weddings. The push-ups and the questions are actually part of modern Chinese weddings, which I think is awesome! There is so much more involved in terms of tradition, but I didn't want to bog you down with too many details. So I hope you all enjoyed this story! Please let me know what you all think and I will definitely come back with more Aang/Toph goodness later on in the near future!


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